The Shinobi Seeking Immortality
by Seeker of Immortality
Summary: A modern man with dreams of an eternal life. Upon his death, he finds himself presented with the opportunity to achieve his dream in a new world. Witness Akakiryu Uchiha achieve greatness in the world of Naruto. Eventually God-like OC, but reasonable progression. OC-Centered. Pairings undecided. Rated M for language, violence, and possibly sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

Earth in the time of the modern world has reached a state of overall peace. Hardship stills runs rampant in small parts of our world, but largely we've reached peace. The world is interconnected; countries communicate constantly between each other; cultures are shared.

But it's mundane.

One day after the other. Most people are just sitting behind a cubicle achieving nothing but the goals of their company, yet they do it only for the sake of a meager salary that lets them live. Only to go home, sleep, and do it again.

That's an awfully terrible way to look at it, but from a realistic perspective, that's kind of how it is.

I've always wanted more.

I lived through years of school, met one person after another, made relationships only to watch them drift away, and at the end of it all, I'm going to turn to dust.

That's pretty lame.

I want to live forever and to have the power to live that eternal life comfortably. I'm not saying that I'm willing to sacrifice a million people and three goats to Satan just so I can live forever, but I'm more than willing to work my ass off so that I can coast off into the glory of an infinite life.

Too bad that's unachievable in this day and age. The best that I can do is exercise and eat healthily, but that will only grant me a few more years tacked on to the end of my life. That's not really worth it.

Therefore, all I can really do is live out life as happy I can hope to be.

Life has been easy living in a first-world country on earth. I come from a middle-class family, I've been gifted with a smart head on my shoulders, and I'm pretty good looking too. Life is good for me. It isn't the best, but it's pretty good.

But that will end.

And I didn't think it would happen so soon.

All it took was me being a selfless idiot trying to throw an ignorant kid out of the way of a charging bus.

Pfft, so much for eternal life.

All I can see now is my crimson blood pooling around me as horrified spectators gather around to watch my last breath slip away from me. And clearly, no one's a god damn doctor either.

Ugh.

Well, you win some, you lose some. Am I right?

*Cough*

Ah, more blood.

You know, I figured this would be more painful, but I guess that's just the lack of oxygen speaking. That would also explain why my vision has gone dark and I can only hear buzzes.

Well, no more buzzes.

Just eternal darkness. I guess I finally got something that's eternal. Does this count as eternal life? My drifting soul stuck in an unknown abyss of time and space? Wait so this is the afterlife?

It kinda sucks. I was expecting a bit more… I don't know? _Oomph_.

At least I can maintain conscient thought. Does this happen to everyone? Or do I just have enough lingering thoughts to prevent my soul from dissipating? At least I have stuff to think about for the duration of my stay in god knows where this fucking place is.

At least souls are a proven theory. It would be a damn shame if I just poofed out of existence.

…

Why is it warm?

It's a welcome change and all, but it feels pretty weird. Wait… _feels_?

Why can I feel?

Better question, why do I hear people?

I'm surrounded by panicked voices in Japanese, and last time I checked I wasn't anywhere near Japan when I died. So I'm not a ghost nearby Japan or some shit. I'm pretty fluent in the language, so it's not inconvenient or anything, but when a man was previously dead and is suddenly surrounded by voices, it raises a couple questions.

Now I'm starting to feel a crushing pressure that wants to take me away from this warmth, and it's starting to piss me off.

It feels like I'm stuck in a slimy sleeping bag and my friend is trying to drag me out of it.

Not pleasant, not at all.

* * *

Konoha's general hospital

In a patient's room cursed with the sterile smell of a medical facility, the room is filled with doctors and nurses each in outfits as white as the room itself. All except for two people, one of which is an adult male with raven black hair in the standard leaf jonin flak-jacket holding the hand of the last person, a crimson-haired woman in a pink patient's gown laying spread-eagle on the hospital bed.

The woman herself was busy yelling at the man holding her hand, "HOLY FUCK THIS BABY BETTER BE WORTH IT YOU ASSHOLEEEEEEEEEEE!" Her face contorted in the pain associated with childbirth.

The man looked both panicked at the shout and pained from her crushing his hand. He wanted to yell back but wisely chose to vent his frustrations at another outlet, "Hey, Docter! You're the expert here, help my wife!"

The doctor turns blind eye at this, for he's experienced such attitudes many times in his career. He chose to continue calmly encouraging the woman instead, "Uzumaki-san, please just keep taking deep breaths and push."

The woman's hair seemed to float at that remark and her eyes turned aflame, "I'VE HEARD YOU SAY THAT SAME SHIT A THOUSAND TIMES ALREADY AND IT'S NOT GETTING ANY BETTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!"

Yet again, the doctor turned a blind eye to this and continued speaking, "That's good Uzumaki-san, you're almost there."

Sure enough, as the doctor foretold, a baby soon arrived in a few moments.

Crimson hair like his mother, and curious black orbs that searched for the light around him. Eyes like his father.

* * *

A hospital room comes into view after I lose the warmth that previously encompassed me.

I think I know how this goes.

Let me guess, I'm reincarnated into the past and soon I'll be able to use my knowledge of the future to become a multibillionaire right? HAHA I WIN THIS TIME FUCKERS!

But god damn, it's cold.

I mean really cold.

Like I know why babies cry when they're born because it's FUCKING COLD COLD COLD COLD!

"Haha! It's a healthy baby boy, Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san!" said the dude with the Doctor's coat.

I'm quickly wiped down and wrapped in a blanket by one of the nurses. Ah, much better.

Wait, are my parents Naruto cosplayers or some shit? Aw, does this mean I'm not in the future? I was totally going to run Apple and call it Mango just so that I could laugh every time someone asked me if I was the CEO of Mango. Haha, gets me every time.

Wow, that dude is really dedicated to his role, he's even wearing the headband and everything. Soon he's talking too, "My son! He's going to be a genius and a proud Uchiha just like his cousin Shisui!"

Damn, will I have Uchiha as my last name? That's going be embarrassing. I'm going to be bullied for having otakus for parents. Oh well, it's still pretty cool sounding. Pfft, they even named my cousin Shisui.

The lady on the bed seems to have something to say too, "Shut up and hand me my son, I'm the one that almost tore my body apart letting him into this world."

The man that's apparently my Dad was quick to hand me over to my new mom.

She cradled me in her arms and held me close to her breast. She whispered under her breathe in the most gentle voice I've heard all day, "My son, my little Akakiryu."

My Dad looked at us with his black eyes shining with a gentle light.

But then his eyes morphed. A three tomoe sharingan quickly appeared in my father's eyes as he gazed upon my mother holding me. As if he wanted to capture the image forever.

I'm pretty sure contact lenses don't let you do that.

…

HAHA I'M IN THE NARUTO WORLD! AND I'M A FUCKING UCHIHA AND AN UZUMAKI!

I WAS FUCKING BORN TO BE GREAT! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH

Wait.

I'm forgetting something here.

All the death, the suffering, endless pain and horrors that encompasses the life of a shinobi.

Oh boy, this is going to be a bitch.

But…

I can do it. And I have the chance to achieve what I've always wanted.

Immortality.

* * *

AN: This is my first fanfic, but it won't be half-assed. I've got it planned out for the most part, but I will still be taking opinions from the readers. It won't be YAOI, so please stay away from recommending that Akakiryu fucks Neji or something like that. Pairings are undecided so I'm up for hearing any opinions on that. I hope you'll like my story and that you will support me in my endeavors of creating a MaleOC story in the world of Naruto.


	2. Chapter 2

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

AN: When I say "reasonable" progression in the summary, I mean to say that Akakiryu's progression will be reasonable to the world of Naruto. He's going to be a prodigy that's even a bit better than Itachi, but he won't be ridiculous like having the mangekyo at birth and start throwing rasengans around like they're candy. Our boy Akakiryu is going to be strong, really strong, but he won't have no opponents. You all will see how he progresses, and I hope you'll be satisfied with it.

* * *

It turns out that I was definitely right. I am totally in the world of Naruto. I'm not sure if it's totally canon Naruto though, since I have parents that shouldn't exist. I don't know about my father, but I'm pretty confident that my mother shouldn't exist. _I_ definitely shouldn't exist.

But I can't really be bothered to wonder about that since the butterfly effect would likely fuck up most of the events that might occur in the future anyway. I know for a fact that Orochimaru that pedophile would definitely want my body over Sasuke's. Actually, I don't know about that, now that I think about it. The whole point of Orochimaru wanting Sasuke's body was for his sharingan and the fact that he was Itachi's brother.

Can you imagine possessing a dude's brother and then killing that dude? Man, that's hardcore.

Anyways, I don't have to worry about that now. I don't really know WHEN I'll have to worry about that.

I've established that the fourth Hokage is still alive right now. I figured that out when HE CAME TO MY FUCKING HOUSE.

Man, that was super exciting. It was like looking at a living legend. Apparently, my mom was Kushina's cousin that managed to not be a part of the destruction of Uzushiogakure by meeting my Dad on a mission and moving to Konoha to live with him. Pretty crazy.

My parents like to show me off since I showed off a little bit of my genius.

I was crawling at 2 months and walking at 4 months, so they were pretty full of themselves. They like to call me their "little genius" or their "little dragon."

When I was only 5 months old and said "Hi mom and dad," they lost their minds.

I know I'm supposed to be a baby, but my good genes allow me to be pretty physical. That doesn't mean that I'm working out, but it's been a year and I've been running around the house since I was 6 months old.

I don't want to start reading until a couple months later, since I don't want to cause a scene, but I've pretty sneaking peeks at my parents' library when I can.

The most of my time has been spent playing around with my chakra, which has been _so much fucking fun._ I thought that I was supposed to unlock my chakra or something, but I've been able to use it since birth. It must be my good genes, I guess.

I have already pretty much figured out my plan for immortality, and I'm not doing it Kaguya style and fucking up the whole world. No, I plan to have so much chakra I can't die.

Tailed beasts are _made_ of chakra. They're literally just a soul with chakra that takes up a physical form. And that's basically my goal.

Theoretically, if I infuse every cell in my body with an overwhelming amount of chakra, then I could become as immortal as a tailed-beast. I doubt I could reform after death like they could, but theoretically, I could live for a long time, if not forever.

Therefore, I've been working my ass off with growing and controlling my chakra.

Thanks to my Uzumaki and Uchiha heritage, I'm basically swimming in the stuff. I'm only a year old, and I already have genin-level reserves.

My daily routine is basically to just use my chakra until I run out. I'm pretty sure I can only do ridiculous chakra exhausting like this due to my Uzumaki blood, but it's working super well since each time I run out and refill, I'm increasing my limit.

I'm a bit limited in the extent of how much I play around with my chakra, since there's a limit to how much of a genius I can be.

I've shown off that I can hold stuff with my chakra, but that's it.

The look on their faces was priceless. Them seeing their son run around with toys stuck to his body was hilarious. It was fun for me too.

I know that I'm going to have ridiculous chakra reserves in the future, so I've been trying to scale my chakra control alongside it. I need both the reserves and the control for my plan.

As such, I've spent my night-times holding toys on chakra strings as I walk around on my ceiling. And parents have been none-the-wiser for it. They just think that I'm a heavy sleeper since I spend most of my daytime taking naps to recover the sleep I didn't have at nighttime.

Things have been going really well, and I don't think this routine will change very much anytime soon.

Woops, I might have jinxed that. I just heard a loud roar that doesn't sound friendly and I can feel enough killing intent that I don't feel very safe.

* * *

Aka Uzumaki and her husband, Kuro Uchiha, were startled awake by the roar of the Kyubi. They immediately scattered to gather their gear and ninja tools. Their gear and tools were always prepared out of habit, due to years of war and bloodshed.

Aka immediately had a bad thought, 'The Kyubi? Kushina!' Aka knew what happens when a tailed beast is extracted from a jinchuriki and she feared for her cousin. She turned to her husband, "Kuro, take Akakiryu to the shelter and then join the fight against the Kyubi. I'm going to help push the Kyubi back."

Kuro didn't argue with his wife. He knew that her skill set was much better suited for a fight against a giant beast like the Kyubi. He just nodded and ran to Akakiryu's room as his wife Body-Flickered away to fight.

When he entered his son's room, he was almost surprised at how calm his son was. He was shaken, but not what one would expect of a child facing the killing intent of the strongest tailed beast.

Akakiryu turned to his father and said, "Dad, what's going on?"

Kuro just picked his son up as fast as he could and said to him, "Son, your mom went to go fight a big fox that's attacking the village. We need to get you somewhere safe before Dad can go help Mom." Kuro said no more as he Body-Flickered to the village shelter. The family lived in the village rather than the Uchiha compound, so they couldn't go to the Uchiha's shelter.

The shelter was already flooding with civilians crying out with panicked shouts.

"Tou-san! Kaa-san! Where are you!"

"Where's my son! MY SON DAMNIT!"

The genins in charge of evacuation were trying to keep everyone calm.

"Everyone just go into the shelter as calmly and orderly as possible! Don't stop at any point, you have to make room for the people behind you!"

Kuro had to join the battle as soon as possible, so he handed Akakiryu off to a genin he was familiar with and instructed him, "Keep my son safe, I need to join the battle so I'll be back for him when this is all over." The genin just nodded silently as Kuro turned to Akakiryu and spoke to him, "Son, you need to be strong while Mom and Dad are away. Be a good boy for the shinobi-sans and just wait for Mom and Dad to come and get you. Do you understand?"

Akakiryu was busy thinking all this time, but he managed to nod in time to respond. That was good enough for his father, as he Body-Flickered to join the battle.

* * *

Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck

I'm an Uchiha and I don't have enough time. The Kyubi attack just happened, which means I have at most 5 or 6 years until the God of Death that is Itachi comes upon me.

Wait, that doesn't matter now. My parents are risking their lives right now.

I know I'm basically a 19-year-old young man stuck in the body of a child, but I still acknowledge those two maniacs as my parents. They've grown on me. And when you suck on the breast of a woman for sustenance, she starts to feel like a mother to you. Not to mention all the times they wiped my ass for me. That takes dedication.

But now they're fighting a giant fucking fox of death. And I don't think that's the healthiest lifestyle choice.

Things are not looking too bright for the future of Akakiryu Uchiha right now.

* * *

AN: The timeframe that Akakiryu lives in has officially been established. He's the same age as Neji, Lee, and Tenten, so he'll be in their class rather than the Rookie 9. That doesn't mean that he'll stay in their class, just that that is the class he'll be in initially. Akakiryu has been given a wake-up call with the realization of the exact place he holds in the storyline, so just wait and see how he plans out his near-future after the events of the Kyubi.

I'm still taking suggestions for pairings, and I need another idea for one of his Mangekyo abilities. I've already got one of them figured out though. It can't be too OP, or it at least needs limitations. I don't want him having instant teleportation or any of that bullshit, that's going to be endgame stuff. I've already got his summons decided upon, so I won't take suggestions for that. Sorry friends.

I also just figured out line breaks, so hopefully it's cleaner.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	3. Chapter 3

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** Oh boy are linebreaks a bitch to figure out on this site. Sorry for any confusion the lack of linebreaks might have caused, this site is confusing with them. It should be fine for this chapter, and I fixed previous chapters. I thought I fixed it last chapter, but I was wrong.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. I sure as hell wish I did though. I know I wouldn't be here. I'd be too busy funding my search for immortality or drinking a smoothie. Not sure which is better. Hahaha

* * *

I never really thought much about my last life during my time in this world. I guess I've always been this way. I prefer to look towards my present situation and what I can do for the future. So, I never thought much about my parents, friends, or family from my last life since I don't even know if they exist at this point. I mean, time is relative and all that jazz, so why should I worry about that?

I prefer worrying about what's in front of me, and the current situation is _No Bueno_.

Something I inherited from my mother is a fairly large chakra sensing ability. It's not much, but I can sense up to a hundred meters.

But you don't need the ability to sense chakra to sense the sheer malice and quantity of chakra radiating from the Kyubi. It feels like I'm at the bottom of a deep oceanic trench being crushed by the pressure of millions of gallons of water.

And my parents are fighting that.

The people who brought me into this world are on the front lines of a fight against a literal _killing machine_.

And I'm totally helpless. I can't do much in the body of a toddler. I don't think I even qualify as a toddler. I'm 1 fucking year old. I don't have the power, or time to gain that power, to help. I feel so fucking overwhelmed.

And the worst part is that I can feel my parents fighting due to the amount of chakra that they are releasing in an effort to keep the Kyubi at bay.

* * *

Hiruzen Sarutobi, third Hokage of the hidden leaf, watches as a giant fucking fox threatens to destroy all he knows and loves. Whether or not his wife is safe right now is unknown, considering the Kyubi has been released, and his successor isn't even here to help stop this giant walking natural disaster.

He stands and watches atop a rooftop while he's garbed in his battle gear. He tries to show no emotion on his face as he turns to his forces and says to them, "Protect the leaf!" And that is all it takes for every shinobi there to disappear in a burst of speed to defend their village.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

Now, I'm still not totally familiar with the layout of the village, but I'm pretty sure that the Kyubi is getting _pretty_ close to the hospital. And I'm not too confident in the evacuation efforts of the injured and sick.

Something tells me things are going to get worse.

* * *

 _Front Lines_

"Somebody stop it from getting near the hospital!"

The Third had just been smacked away by the Kyubi's tail when he tried grabbing its attention, and he was too far away from stopping it from what was about to happen.

Aka Uzumaki had no thoughts in her head when she instinctively Body-Flickered on top of the building where her son was born. She knew she had the power to delay the beast, but she wasn't sure how long she could do it.

"Water Style: Water Wall Jutsu!"

A towering wall of water appeared between the Kyubi and the hospital as Aka had burst through hand seals faster than she ever had before.

The Kyubi seemed irritated by the obstacle and somehow more determined to get past it. The fox jumped up on its hind heels and put all of its body-weight into pressing against the water wall.

Several more shinobi joined in the effort to put in chakra to fuel the water wall, and more shinobi made walls of their own, but the Kyubi was overpowering them.

Aka jumped atop the water wall and started printing hand seals as she put all chakra she had into an attack to blow back the beast.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A water dragon, much larger than its typical counterpart, appeared in an instant and smashed against the Kyubi square in the chest. The attack launched it back dozens of meters, a safe distance away from the hospital, but the giant fox turned around and swatted its tails at Aka.

Aka was out of chakra and Kuro could only watch as his wife was smashed across the village through buildings.

His mind practically snapped, "AKAAAAAA!"

'Please be safe Please be safe Please be safe…'

He rushed off after her, holding onto that string of hope that she might be alright. He followed the carnage that her body left in its wake and fell to his knees when arrived at the end.

There, stuck in the smashed wall of a concrete building, was Aka's body. With her clothes torn and body battered, she was stuck in the wall with her blood pooling out of the cracks around her.

Kuro stood up shaking, hand outstretched and eyes wide with the hopes that they might see a sign of life from his wife. He walked up and held her face as he called her name with watery eyes, "Aka…"

He saw no response and dreaded the worst, but he pressed his fingers against her neck as gently as he could in hopes that they might feel a pulse. He hoped, almost begged, that she was only unconscious.

Moments went by, but all he could feel was his own tears pooling up in his eyes. He knew it. Aka was dead.

He gently hugged her and tried to pull her from the wall as the crushed stone surrounding her began to fall apart. Soon the wall came down with her body, but Kuro held her close, shielding her from the falling concrete. Throughout the entire ordeal, his eyes never left her face.

Kneeling at the side of his dead wife, in a pool of her blood as crimson as her hair, he watched her. His tears running down his face turned red as he began to cry blood. His blaring three tomoe sharingan began to take on a new form as his eyes took on a new form. But he couldn't be bothered to notice the change, for he was too concerned with cradling the body of his wife.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

Oh, well. I'm sure it's fine. I'm a pretty lucky guy.

* * *

AN: Akakiryu's dad gains new powers, but at what cost? How will this affect our old-in-mind but young-in-body protagonist? Next time on The Shinobi Seeking Immortality!

Haha I always wanted to do an outro like that. But man was this chapter sad. I hope I captured the emotions well. I'm still an amateur, so I'd like to hear your thoughts on my writing. Next chapter is going to be a big one, but I've been working on it, so it should be out today or tomorrow.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	4. Chapter 4

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** Aka being able to use water jutsu without the support of any nearby water source was not a mistake on my part. It was a display of a remarkable affinity towards water chakra. This'll come into play later.

Oh wow, I didn't upload this chapter. Woops. I had already had it written, but I guess I forgot to upload it. I didn't realize my mistake until I read the reviews and saw PracticalPoptarts's review asking where the update was. Hahaha, well here you go.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. That would make life easier, wouldn't it? hahaha

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

Things did not turn out _fine_. Things turned out pretty _shit_.

Pretty much the same events from the story happened. The fourth Hokage showed up, took the Kyubi away from the village, and sealed it away at the cost of his own life. I didn't see that last part, but I think it's safe to assume that's what happened.

But, that stuff is fine. I prepared myself for that shit to happen. But I didn't prepare for the real wake-up call that showed up in the form of my Dad crying bloody tears as he told me _my_ _mom was dead._

I went braindead after I heard that, and the following funeral for the village went by in a blur. Everyone was busy repairing the village and healing their own wounded hearts, but my father and I were too busy spending hours staring at my mom's gravestone.

Every time I look in the mirror, I saw my hair that was as crimson as hers. As crimson as the blood that stained my father as he hugged me, as crimson as the tears he shed upon my shoulder, and as crimson as _my eyes_.

I awakened my sharingan, but I don't feel as cool as I thought I would. My mom died for this. Is this what Tobirama meant when he spoke of the Uchiha curse? Gaining power through pain and suffering? I don't know whether to feel good or bad. I feel awful, but I'm one step closer to being immortal.

The death of my loved one granted me _strength_ , and I don't know how to feel about that.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

My mom was a pretty overwhelming ball of love and joy, while my father was a typical Uchiha man with his stern countenance and cold aura. But his eyes were always so gentle when he looked at me or my mother.

Not anymore. Each time my father looks at me, I can almost see the pained light that shines within them. He's basically a broken shell of a man, with him being reminded of what he lost each time he looks upon my crimson hair.

I've taken it upon myself to keep my sharingan activated constantly. I want it to be a symbol of what I lost. Each time I sense the chakra flowing towards my eyes, I'm reminded of what I lost. I decided that will be the fuel that pushes me towards my goals. I want that pain to be a motivation to make sure it never happens again.

Right now, my eyes only have a tomoe in each eye, but my eyes will be stronger. For my lost mother – regardless of how short of a time I knew her.

On a side note, I think I'm getting over her death pretty quickly. Maybe my optimism and motivation is a result of my Uzumaki blood? That would explain how Naruto is so fucking chipper all the time.

* * *

 _Kuro_

It hurts to live in this house. Staying here is slowly crushing me and laying alone in the bed where we used to make love is killing me.

If I didn't have Akakiryu, I probably would have chased after her into the Pure Land.

But even he burdens me.

Looking at his hair and seeing the features of his mother hidden on his face brings a twinge of pain to my heart each time. I love the boy, he's the only person I have left after all, but he's a reminder of my pain.

Nothing could make me prouder than a son such as Akakiryu, but I can't bear spending too much time around the boy.

I need to get out of this house. _We_ need to get out of this house. The boy needs to be around family, and so do I.

* * *

 _A week later._

Today, father and son, Kuro Uchiha and Akakiryu Uchiha, are moving out of their home.

The duo has already had their belongings transferred to their family's home in the Uchiha compound and today they both will be personally moving over to the compound. Kuro with his raven black hair and stern face stands before his house for one final look before they leave. His sharingan burns the image of his old home into his memory as he holds the hand of his crimson haired son, who also stares with his sharingan glaring at the house.

Kuro lets out a sigh, adjusts the bag on his shoulder, and tugs on his son's hand as they turn towards their new destination. As they walk the streets, people can't help but stare at the crimson haired boy walking with the raven-haired jonin. Each of them had seen his eyes and both civilians and ninja alike couldn't help but gasp at the sight.

"A boy so young with a pair of sharingan?"

"His hair is crimson, is that the son of Aka Uzumaki and Kuro Uchiha? It must be! He's walking with the man himself!"

"I can't believe it, their son is such a genius! I don't think any Uchiha has had his sharingan activated at such a young age! He might just be a prodigy greater than Itachi!"

 **AN** : Itachi is 9 at this point in time, so he should already have been at least a chunin and his fame as a prodigy should be pretty renowned at this point.

"The Uchiha sure are great. They create prodigies like they're nothing."

"Are they great enough to control the nine-tails?"

"Shh! Shut up about rumors like that you idiot!"

Akakiryu and his father heard each comment, and while the first few comments pleased Kuro, Akakiryu could tell he didn't like the last few. Akakiryu could see the burning rage in his father's eyes as his clenched fists seemed to twitch towards his kunai pouch ever so slightly. While his father exercised restraint towards their ignorance, it was obvious to Akakiryu that the man had a seed planted in his heart at that moment.

A seed that Akakiryu knew would lead to his death. A seed that would not be allowed to grow.

Worry flooded the reincarnated man's mind, 'The rage that Dad showed when the villagers mentioned the Uchiha controlling the Kyubi… It's at a level that I could feel it in his chakra. And I am nowhere near to being at the level of sensing emotions in chakra yet.'

Akakiryu set his worries aside as he continued walking with his father.

* * *

The two continued their journey, ignoring the comments surrounding them until they found themselves at the gate of the Uchiha compound.

The Uchiha men acting as gate guards did nothing to block their entrance. Rather they smiled and bowed upon seeing Kuro, but their eyes went wide upon seeing Akakiryu's sharingan. Their jaws hung slack as they watched the two simply nod at them and pass them by.

Each Uchiha that they passed were awestruck by the child that held eyes as crimson as his hair. Their emotions were all identical in their phases; first, they were shocked, then they were amazed, and then they felt a surge of Uchiha pride.

A high ranking elder Uchiha happened to be on the street and couldn't help but stop at the sight. He motioned to the two and spoke as they stopped, "Kuro my boy, I see you've returned home! Is this your son?" His eyes practically never left Akakiryu as he spoke, and his eyes had activated as he stared at the boy.

Kuro let out a chuckle that held a hint of pride as he confirmed, "That's correct, Elder. This is my son, Akakiryu Uchiha. We're moving back to the compound today and we plan to stay here."

Akakiryu merely stared at the elder with his own sharingan blaring, as he gave a slight bow to the elder, "Hello, Elder. I am Akakiryu."

The elder's eyes lit up at the greeting, "How well mannered and mature for his age! I can practically see Itachi in him! How old is the boy?" His eyes finally turned to Kuro at this point.

Kuro gave a smirk and responded, "He's a bit over a year old." His smirk grew wider as he saw the elder's jaw drop. Such an unsightly appearance is extraordinarily rare for an Uchiha, and especially so for an Uchiha elder. 'Aka would probably die laughing at such a sight.' The thought lifted his spirits and dropped them at the same time.

"That's incredible! Not only his mind, but his body has grown well too! He doesn't look only a year old at all! Heck, I bet he could begin ninja training soon!" The thought sent a manic light shining through his eyes when he thought of a prodigy emerging that was greater than Itachi.

Akakiryu was excited internally when the Elder mentioned that to his father and hope filled his eyes as he looked at his father.

His father seemed to have something register in his mind when the comment was made and he couldn't help but look at his son. 'He's right. The boy is far bigger for his age and could definitely begin training. Nothing major, but he could definitely stand to learn how to throw a kunai.' His hand went to his chin at the thought and something else passed in his mind, 'Strength. The boy needs to be strong. Stronger than his mother. I refuse to lose him.' His sharingan activated unconsciously at the idea with his mangekyo flashing briefly.

Akakiryu was the only one staring at his father at that moment, and only he managed to catch a glimpse of the changes in his father's eyes. He showed nothing on the outside, but internally he was screaming, 'HOLY CRAP DAD HAS A FUCKING MANGEKYO!? That's badass! There's no way he'll die on me if he has those eyes! I wonder what his abilities are. Oooh I can't wait to get mine.' A raging desire for strength raged in his own eyes as he continued to stare at his father.

The raven-haired jonin finally spoke to his son, "Would you like that, Ryu? To begin your shinobi training already?"

"Yes, father!" Akakiryu had no hesitation whatsoever in his response. Almost as if he had been waiting for this moment.

Both the Elder and Kuro chuckled at the little man's response.

"Well Elder, I think we'll head home now. Little Ryu seems awfully eager right now and I don't think we should keep him waiting."

The Elder nodded, "Very well." He turned to Akakiryu and smiled, "I hope to see you soon Akakiryu-kun."

Akakiryu gave his own smile at the elder and gave another slight bow. The Uchiha women watching at the side couldn't help but coo when they saw the little cutie's actions.

* * *

Soon Akakiryu and his father found themselves at their new home where they saw a kid in shinobi gear standing out in front of it.

"Ah, Shisui-kun! It's been a while!" Kuro smiled at the boy standing there. "Where are your parents?"

"Ah, Uncle Kuro!" He smiled, "Dad's at home bedridden as always, but mom is inside rearranging your furniture for you haha!" He couldn't help but laugh as he could hear the faint shuffling inside the house.

Kuro let out a sigh and gently shook his head, "I'll have to take some time to visit your father." But then he smiled, "Meanwhile, I'm going to go help your mother to stop her from making this place her own house."

Before he went inside, he introduced the two boys, "Shisui-kun, this is Akakiryu, my son." He smiled at Akakiryu before he went inside.

Akakiryu turned to the boy whom he knew was an underappreciated legend. 'Holy crap, Dad wasn't kidding when he said Shisui was my cousin.' Akakiryu practically had stars floating in his eyes as he looked at the young shinobi.

Shisui smiled at the young boy, "Hey Ryu-kun, I'm your cousin, Shisui."

Akakiryu smiled in return and waved at the older boy, "Hi Shisui-nii!" He was pretty surprised as the boy seemed to not show much shock as the sight of his eyes. He spoke to the older Uchiha boy, "So you're a shinobi like Dad?"

Shisui seemed proud that his newfound-cousin was holding admiration for him. He raised his chin and puffed his chest a little, "Yup! I'm even the same rank!"

Akakiryu displayed the expected amount of surprise that a kid should show at such knowledge, "WOAH! You're as strong as Dad!?"

Shisui couldn't help but choke a little at that, "*Cough* *Cough* Uh, I don't know about that. But I am really strong!" He regained his confidence and smiled at the boy.

"Wow. Dad said I could start a little bit of shinobi training soon, do you think you could teach me something later?" Akakiryu showed genuine expectation in his eyes when he asked that. Being taught by Shisui of the Bodyflicker would be an honor for anyone, let alone a 1-year old child.

"Sure," Shisui promised, "Now let's go inside."

The two Uchiha prodigies walked together into the house to meet their parents.

* * *

 **AN** : So the chapter was going to be much longer, but I decided to break it off here since it was getting really long. Do you guys prefer longer or shorter chapters? Leave a review letting me know. Akakiryu is going to grow up pretty quick in the next chapter so that we can speed along to get him into the academy. But next chapter will be about some bits of his training and some other fun encounters with other Uchihas. I think you will all be satisfied to read about it. Akakiryu is going to be a little monster hahaha!

Please leave some reviews to tell me how my writing is! I always strive for improvement!

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	5. Chapter 5

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** You all asked for longer chapters, so here we go ladies and gents!

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. I'd probably be a better writer if I could make something like that masterpiece hahaha!

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

You know, I really don't understand why people are so chill with how smart I am. Sure, I've kept up a relatively good act for my age and I've mostly just shown that I'm a prodigy, but I still sometimes slip up and show a hint of how mature I really am.

I know this world doesn't really have psychologists considering the fact that walking nut cases like Kakashi and Anko are still in duty, but there should be at least a little suspicion targeted at me. Hell, even the Fourth Hokage, when he was alive, thought that I was just another genius. Neither of my parents have suspected me at all. Well mom only had a year with me, and I was mostly quiet, but still.

Whatever, if no one suspects me and everyone just thinks I'm a genius, then it works out great for me. I'm just a little ticked off at how convenient everything is. I feel like Orochimaru and Danzo are going to get major hard-ons when they see me.

Oh Kami please get that fucking image out of my head.

* * *

 _One month later_

Kuro had hired a tutor for Akakiryu so that he could learn to read and write and it only took a month for Akakiryu to show mastery over the language both written and orally.

He originally was fluent, so the beginning was super easy for him. He just used the sharingan as an excuse to speed through the tutor's teachings. Eventually, by the end of the month, he was as good with Japanese as he was with English, and the best part of it all was that he no longer had to use short sentences or smaller words. Even better was the fact that he could openly read books in his father's library.

Speaking of his father, the man spent most of his time out of the house doing who-knows-what. Akakiryu only saw him for dinner and then it was off to bed. The man didn't seem like he enjoyed spending more time than necessary with his son, but he held a good attitude towards Akakiryu when they did spend time.

To Akakiryu, his father's antisocial attitude was perfect for him. He didn't enjoy pretending to be a little kid, prodigy or not. Plus, with his father not around, he had all the time in the world to work on his chakra control, chakra sensing, and growing his reserves. His reserves are still genin level, but they're almost mid-genin at this point. But his chakra control is ridiculous and he has managed to increase his sensing range by ten more meters, bring it up to 110 meters.

The month went by fast and the tutor was gone by the end of it. He was supposed to stay longer to teach Akakiryu about math, but the boy just laughed at him and said that he taught himself when he learned to read. The look on the tutor's face was hilarious, but his father's reaction was somewhat disappointing. When Kuro heard the news, he just chuckled and said, "Why am I not surprised?"

Akakiryu's reputation with his father had been set in stone by that point.

Today Kuro is taking his son out to do what he had always wanted: shinobi training.

They stood in the middle of an Uchiha training ground whilst looking downrange at some targets.

Kuro turned to his son and held up a kunai, "Look closely, Son. This is one of many tools at a shinobi's disposal and a kunai happens to be one of the most useful. Skill with a kunai can mean the difference between life and death, so it's important for you to have an advanced grasp of it. There are two main methods of using it. First-" The kunai flew from his hand straight into the middle of the target furthest down range. "- is throwing."

He drew another kunai from his pouch and placed it in his son's eager hand. "Have a try at it."

Akakiryu turned to the target that his father had struck. It was over a hundred meters down range, which was definitely beyond the skills of even a chunin for it to strike the bullseye at such a distance. It was even more so beyond the skills of himself. Hell, his arm probably didn't even have the strength to throw the kunai that far. He may be strong for a child his age, and much bigger too, but it was definitely out of his league for him to do that.

Akakiryu opted for a closer target. 30 meters away. There was hardly any wind and his eyes could see clearer than ever. He could do it.

He took aim and threw the kunai in one swift motion with the sound of it connecting with the target was heard not shortly after. It wasn't a bullseye, but it wasn't far off the mark.

Kuro was ready to pat his son on the head and tell him that it wasn't easy the first time, but his eyes popped open when he saw what just happened. "Well, geez Son. You never fail to give your old man a swift kick to my worldview."

Akakiryu just turned to his father and gave a slight smirk. "What else?"

Kuro scratched the back of his head and kept giving his son a weird, but proud, look. "Well, the second main way of using a kunai is in melee combat, but I don't want you messing around with close-range combat just yet. It could be detrimental to your growth if you start too early. I'm sure that by the time you're two you should be able to start. Instead, let me show you how to throw shuriken too."

* * *

The day swiftly passed with Akakiryu eventually being able to hit the 30-meter target in the bullseye each time when he was using a single kunai or shuriken. He didn't break a sweat doing it either. His motions didn't waste any energy and even if he did, he was an Uzumaki.

Kuro was proud watching his son, but he was mentally exhausted watching him. It's hard to believe a kid so young could be such a genius. Although, the kid's sharingan likely had no small part in it. "Alright, I think that's enough for the day. We only took a break for lunch and it's about time we had dinner. Plus, the sun is about to go down."

Akakiryu looked up at the sky and nodded. He ran down range to retrieve the throwing tools and returned them to his father.

His father looked at the weapons and then back at the red-haired boy. He smiled, "It looks like I'll have to get you your own set so that you can start practicing on your own."

Akakiryu grinned widely at his father and then grabbed his hand, tugging him in the direction of their home. Kuro chuckled and easily matched the stride of the boy.

* * *

Months went by and Akakiryu was about 42-inches tall which was as tall as a five-year-old. He was only two years old now, having just turned that age two days ago, but he looked nothing like it. His hair was down to his shoulders and tied into a low ponytail. He wasn't sure if he had styled it after Itachi subconsciously, but his hair was like the crimson version of the Uchiha prodigy's own. Shisui made sure to make a remark to the boy about it when he had dinner with Akakiryu and his dad for his birthday.

Speaking of Shisui, Akakiryu bonded well with the boy over the many months. Shisui was good on his promise and had shown Akakiryu some tricks with throwing shuriken and kunai. It was at the level where furthering his skill in throwing the weapons would be pointless. Shisui was practically shocked stupid watching him hit targets perfectly from over a hundred meters away, not to mention even when he was throwing 4 kunai at once.

Shisui even made Akakiryu turn off his Sharingan to make sure it wasn't a fluke, but he was proved wrong when the boy showed no difference in skill.

Shisui spent almost half of his free-time with the boy, telling him stories or just hanging out with him. They would hold conversations befitting their titles as geniuses and even though Akakiryu was older than Shisui mentally, and Shisui older physically, the two became extremely close.

Other than spending time with Shisui, Akakiryu mostly spent his time reading or touching up his throwing skills. He made sure to practice at least an hour a day, but there wasn't much to do other than just keep the skills fresh. His time was more dedicated to laying in the branches of a tree in the middle of the forest and reading books he had borrowed from the Uchiha library. His father gave a permission slip allowing him to access academy student level books, so he had a wide reading selection.

His reserves had shot up to the level of a low-chunin and his chakra control was as good as ever. His sensing had the most improvement, being able to sense any chakra signature within a 500-meter radius. Life was going well for young Akakiryu, but it got better when his Dad spoke to him at dinner.

"Ryu, I think you're ready to learn taijutsu now. Tomorrow morning after breakfast, meet me in the sparring room and I'll teach you our clan's style." The father spoke with a wide smile on his face.

Akakiryu was ecstatic to hear that, 'Fuck yeah! It's about time I learned this how to literally kick ass! I can probably start working out soon, too! Ooooh, I can't wait to have an iron body like Lee.'

* * *

The next morning, like he had promised, Kuro showed his son the stances of his clan's unique style: The Interceptor Style. He displayed the various katas against a training dummy or just in the air. He would stop and give a detailed explanation after each stance and it wasn't until noon that he was done.

He stopped and gave his son a smile, "So what do you think?"

Akakiryu couldn't help but look at his father and exclaim, "Wow Dad, our clan is no joke." He wasn't lying either, he was genuinely impressed with the finesse that the style possessed. It incorporated both grace and dominance despite being a more defensive type of style. It was focused on counters and it was perfect when used with the Uchiha's sharingan.

Kuro was ecstatic with his son's response and couldn't help but lean back and give a proud laugh, "Haha! You're right about that, Son! Nothing beats the Uchiha! We can even give those damn Hyuga a run for their money with our taijutsu!"

He stopped laughing and looked back at his son, "You should practice those stances hard, and when you have ingrained them in your body, you should take a look at this." He tossed his son a scroll.

Akakiryu caught it and inspected the outside of the scroll. It was normal for the most part, but on the center of the scroll, it had a red Uzumaki clan symbol. He looked at his father, "Dad, is this…"

"That's right," The man continued, "It's your mother's clan's taijutsu style. It will be harder to learn since there's no one to show you how to do it, but I want you to learn it once you've finished learning the Interceptor Style."

Akakiryu stared intently at the scroll, his sharingan activated as always, and he nodded.

Kuro gave a gentle smile at that and said, "Alright, let's go have lunch."

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

Atop the mats of a sparring room, two bodies were clashing fiercely. Well, one body was clashing fiercely, while the other was rather steady. The smaller body was quick in his movements but was totally unable to find any openings in the stance of the larger one.

"Stop." The bodies halted.

"I'm impressed, you already have a basic mastery over our clan's style. You've memorized the stances well." Kuro spoke whilst smiling proudly at his son.

Akakiryu smiled gently and gave a slight bow to his father, "I wouldn't have mastered it so quickly if you hadn't helped me with sparring daily, Father."

Kuro gave a chuckle and shook his head, "I'm sure you would have mastered it quickly regardless. You're a little monster like that. My little dragon!" A buried pain seemed to resurface in his eyes when he spoke his son's nickname, but it was swiftly suppressed. He spoke again, "I think you should go ahead and start learning your mother's style."

The boy looked excited at the comment and he swiftly ran off. Likely to study the scroll.

Kuro just stood alone in the room with a smile on his face. 'My son. Our son.' His smile drooped and his eyes misted over. 'He's growing so fast, it's ridiculous how beyond his age he is. I don't even feel like I'm raising the boy, it feels more like he's a student of mine. You'd be so proud of him, Aka…'

He shook his head and left on his own.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

The Uzu Style, huh? I can't wait to combine it with the Interceptor Style. I bet it would kick ass and it looks like they would fit together perfectly.

Unlike the Interceptor style, which is more defense-oriented, the Uzu style seems to be more focused on overwhelming flurries of attacks that leave the opponent with no chance to fight back. Both styles are heavy on reflexes and they complement what the other lacks. I really could give a Hyuga a run for his money if I manage to combine these styles. I'm going to have to work hard though since both of these styles require a ridiculous amount of speed to perform correctly.

Which means only one thing…

Gotta go fast!

Alright, that was lame, please forget that. But honestly, I'm going to need Rock Lee level speeds to really perfect these styles. My current body is pretty ridiculous though, so I don't think I'll have much trouble making my body the equivalent of well-forged steel.

Uzumaki blood + Uchiha blood = Tyranny.

Honestly, my body recovers so fast that I feel like a jinchuriki and my body learns any action I perform ridiculously quickly. It's to the point that adding the sharingan to the equation makes it feel like I'm cheating at life.

I don't think my bloodlines were intended to be united. It's just not fair.

* * *

AN: So, I've decided that I'm going to end it here and that next chapter will time-skip to the time that Akakiryu joins the academy. It would be too tedious to go into more details regarding everything Akakiryu learns in his first few years, so I'm going to do flashbacks for when he's reminded of certain things. It's not going to be flashback after flashback though, only for important stuff. I'd rather not drown you guys with stuff like that. Not to mention that I'm sure you guys are eager to get into Akakiryu interacting with other people. The story is going to start picking up from here on out, so I hope you'll enjoy!

I decided on his mangekyo abilities, summon abilities, and his affinities, but I'm still open to suggestions regarding pairings. I don't mind him having a harem (nothing more than 4 girls please, any more would be too much), nor do I mind if he's stuck with one girl. So leave a review telling me what you want for him, whether it be Akakiryu being with 4 lovely ladies, or just one. And let me know who. I have no qualms about squashing canon pairings so there are no limits on who they might be.

I still want reviews on my writing too, please! Any criticism is appreciated!

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	6. Chapter 6

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** This chapter should be a lot more interesting than the previous since we're finally getting into the actual story. It's definitely a lot longer than previous chapters, that's for sure. Plus, I've had some inspiration as to how to improve my writing style, so I'm hoping the story overall will be better. Cheers m8s!

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. Nor will I in the future, since I don't think I'll be reborn as God Kishimoto anytime soon hahahah!

* * *

I was slipping on my shoes at by the door of our house when I heard Dad's voice, "Hey Ryu, go on ahead to the academy, I'll meet you there for the ceremony!"

I opened the door and shouted back, "Alright, see you later Dad!" And I was swiftly out the door.

While walking down the streets of the Uchiha compound, I received several smiles from my fellow Uchihas. While Uchihas were hardasses, they're all pretty friendly when dealing with fellow Uchihas. Although I'd be hard-pressed to receive most than a hello, smile, nod, or the rare wave. It's mostly the Uchiha women that were so friendly to me, though. I've turned out to be a _very_ cute young man. And a loveable 6-year-old is every woman's eye-candy.

I returned every greeting I received, all-the-while never losing my gentle smile, and I continued on my merry way to the academy. Life has been pretty good these 6 years, but I'm so happy to actually be starting my ninja career.

I was soon out of the compound's gate, not forgetting to greet the gate-keepers of course, and I walked down the village streets. I didn't receive any greetings from anyone I knew, since almost all of my time is spent within Uchiha grounds. But I definitely received a whole lot of stares of interest and occasionally _suspicion_. The manga wasn't kidding when it said that the village suspected the Uchiha of being behind the Kyubi attack. Although the suspicions targeted at the Uchiha is definitely a lot less than it was made out to be.

Anyways, my activated 3-tomoe mature sharingan was getting me a lot of curious looks since I still look like a little kid. Granted, I'm much taller than my age; I stand tall at 130 centimeters. I'm convinced that my bloodlines aren't the causes of my height, but rather my previous life's body having been over 6 and a half feet tall. I think my soul wants this body to match it better. There's a limit to the growth, but I definitely look like I'm 8 or 9 rather than 6.

Putting my theories aside, I quickly found my way to the academy where parents and children alike were standing gathered outside. The ceremony doesn't start until 10 minutes from now, but it seems most people like being as early as I do.

I couldn't help myself from scanning the crowd for familiar faces, since I knew that I would know three people in my future class.

Looking around at each face in the whole crowd in an instant, I soon found the three people I was looking for. The three people I would be sharing a class with before I could graduate as early as possible: Neji, Lee, and Tenten.

Neji held a calm and stoic look on his face that was rather unbefitting of a child his age, but I'm not exactly one to talk about that. He was wearing a typical Hyuga robe. Tenten looked absolutely fucking adorable with her hair down and a white kimono. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but be pleased at Lee not looking like a fucking moron. His look prior to being corrupted by Guy is actually not bad.

I stopped looking around and found myself a spot with the other kids standing before the stage. I was receiving a lot of stares and could hear murmurs like "Who's the cute Uchiha boy?" and "Why's his hair red?" but nobody seemed to want to chat with me yet.

I just closed my eyes and stood waiting for the ceremony to begin. I only opened my eyes to look and smile at my father when I felt his chakra signature reach the crowd of parents, then I closed my eyes and continued waiting.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, I felt the approach of a huge chakra signature and I knew the ceremony was about to begin. I opened my eyes and looked to the stage.

The third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, appeared on stage and peered at the next generation of child-soldiers *Cough* I mean shinobi.

For the next half-an-hour we listened to the speech of the most powerful man in this village, and it was very interesting watching the looks on the kids' faces. They went from looks of awe and respect to looks of boredom to looks of drowsiness. It was amusing to say the least.

"-and that children, is what it means to be the next generation of shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village." He smiled and received a resounding wave of applause as he disappeared from the stage.

A chunin teacher took his place on the stage and called out, "Please stay behind to receive registration forms. You are to fill them out and bring them to the academy tomorrow. You'll be starting classes next week." A couple chunins were soon passing out forms.

After I had grabbed one, I just walked up to my father and asked, "Ready to go?"

He chuckled in response, "Well you don't seem that enthusiastic to stick around much longer."

I looked him in the eyes and widened my smile, "Is there much point in sticking around further?"

He shook his head and started walking home. And I was right behind him.

* * *

 _The Academy the next week_

I walked up to the classroom that I'm going to be familiar with for the next year. I double checked the room number and walked inside. There were only a couple kids inside, and they weren't the three people I was concerned with, so I didn't bother talking with them. I opted instead to find myself a seat in the very back by the windows. After I sat down, I just closed my eyes and waited for our teacher to show up.

I felt the class fill up with smaller presences, but it wasn't until I felt the arrival of a noticeably stronger that I opened my eyes. The man was very, shall I say, average. Chunin vest, Konoha forehead protector, brown hair and brown eyes. Average.

He walked up to the board and wrote his name in chalk, and then he turned around to face the class. He smiled at us all and spoke, "Hello class, you may call me Riku-sensei and you all will be studying under me for these next 6 years. I'm going to do a roll call now, so please stand up when I call your name."

After each name called, someone would stand, Riku-sensei would give a brief pause, so we could remember who they were, and then he would continue with the next name. Honestly, I don't know if it was because I was really bad with names in my last life, but I couldn't remember anyone except for Lee, Neji, and Tenten. Finally, my name came last.

"Akakiryu Uchiha."

When I stood and looked around, I received all kinds of different looks. When I smiled and saw the blushing faces of all the prepubescent girls, I really couldn't help but wonder if young-love was an early onset condition in this world. The boys seemed to have something birth in their eyes as well, as if my existence was a challenge to them. Neji was giving me a look that said, 'His fate is strong.' Lee was giving me a look of awe. And cute little Tenten was giving me a look that said, 'Oooooooh, I like.' I mean she also gave the same look at Neji, but I don't really care.

Riku-sensei seemed to give me a longer pause than he did for the other children in the room, other than Neji, and then finally continued with class. "Well that's everyone," he said, "You all will be together for a long time, so try to remember each other. The first class for the day," he turned around and started writing on the chalkboard, "is history."

And that would be time for me to get some Zs.

Not even 5 minutes after closing my eyes, my instincts forced my eyes open and my hand swiftly moved to catch the piece of chalk flying at my head. Both Riku-sensei and the rest of the class seemed surprised. Riku-sensei got over it quickly though, "Akakiryu," he called, "Since you find it fit to nap in my class, can you tell me what each of our Hokages was most famed for?"

I looked him dead in the eyes and rattled off, "The first Hokage was famous for his wood style jutsu, the second was famous for his incredible water affinity, the third is famous for his mastery of the 5 elements, and the fourth was famous for his Flying Thunder God jutsu that allowed him to slay countless shinobi on the battlefield in a matter of mere seconds."

Riku-sensei's jaw dropped a little, but he got over it quickly. He grumbled and then spoke, "Alright, go back to your nap then."

The class seemed stunned throughout the whole ordeal, and they were shocked silent all the way until I found the sweet embrace of sleep yet again.

* * *

I heard a voice wake me up. "Akakiryu."

I opened my eyes and raised my head.

"Alright class, now that our resident know-it-all is awake," the class giggled at that, "it's time for Taijutsu class, so follow me out to the academy training grounds." The whole class perked up at that, especially the boys.

We all gathered out to the fields and Riku-sensei began to speak once it looked like we were all paying attention, "Alright, for the first few weeks we're going to be following the same routine for Taijutsu class. I'm going to demonstrate the academy taijutsu style to you all and after that, you each will spend the next hour practicing the katas. After that, you'll be running twenty laps around the field and then doing various exercises. It'll be hard work, but I have high expectations for you all. I hope you will all be able to persevere and train hard to become fine shinobi."

Flames seemed to ignite in the eyes of the innocent children, flames that I'm sure will be extinguished after the next two hours of training.

Sure enough, over the next two hours, the only people that could actually complete everything was Neji and I. Only I managed to do it without even breaking a sweat. The rest of the class seemed like they were on the verge of death at an early age.

"Alright class," Riku-sensei smiled at the exhausted children and me, "It's time for lunch."

Those words seemed to put some life back into the class, and we all headed back to the classroom to grab our lunches. After grabbing mine, I headed back outside so that I could eat under the shade of a tree. I would usually eat up on a branch, but I figured that eating on the ground would make me more approachable.

Trying to be approachable didn't seem to work all that well since most everyone else seemed to opt for sitting on their own or with friends. Most sat alone since there hasn't been all that much time to get to know each other. Neji was sitting alone under a different tree, Lee was sitting alone by the wall, and Tenten seemed to be enjoying her lunch with a few other girls.

I just shrugged and continued eating on my own.

* * *

The rest of the day was dull. Riku-sensei spent the rest of the school-day teaching the basics of chakra, and I opted to sleep the whole time since I knew it all. Riku-sensei didn't even try to question me about it, since considering I had a fully matured sharingan, he was likely convinced that I was a genius that has been put through the Uchiha genius training regimen already.

This is going to be a _looooonnnnnggg_ year.

* * *

 _Two weeks later_

"Akakiryu wake up. It's time for Taijutsu class." A call rings out from Riku-sensei.

I open my eyes and they go from blurry to clear in an instant. Perks of a sharingan haha! No more foggy eyes for me! Good eyesight is one of life's greatest gifts, and OP eyes like the Sharingan are just too much fun.

"Now that everyone is awake, let's go outside." The class follows Riku-sensei outside after hearing the same joke that he makes every day.

Once we were all outside, Riku-sensei addressed us, "Alright class, today we're doing something different." He looks around at our eager faces, "We're going to have sparring matches to see how your progress matches up with each other and so that you may gain actual combat experience. Sparring helps immensely in refining your taijutsu."

Everyone in the class started murmuring around us. I looked at the boy next to me, "Hey Lee, who do you think you'll fight?"

"I am not sure," He shook his head, "But I am most eager." Lee doesn't have those flames of passion that Guy imparts yet, but still has that weird way of talking. I wonder if he's any good at taijutsu yet.

"Alright, class, settle down." We all went quiet and looked at Riku-sensei. "The first match will be between Neji Hyuga and Akakiryu Uchiha."

The class seemed to burst into chatter at the matchup between the two prodigies.

"Neji and Akakiryu are going to fight? They're the best in the class so this should be good!" A civilian boy mutters.

"Akakiryu-kun and Neji-kun fighting? Ooooh I wonder who will win!" A civilian girl mutters.

The class's girls seem divided on who they like the most; they can't decide if they like Neji or me more. Although it seems like the girls like me more due to my Sharingan and my 'so good I don't even have to try' persona that they seem to have judged me as. In reality, I'm already easily low-chunin level and I'm only here since everyone has to go to the academy to be a shinobi. The poor Neji fangirls are going to have their world shattered. It's so amusing haha!

Neji walks up with a stoic look, but you can see his eyes twitching a bit. Genius he may be, but he's still only six and this his first fight at the academy. I'm not sure how much training he has received at the Hyuga compound.

I myself walk up as well, never losing the gentle smile on my face. Although, to the guys, it probably just looks like a smirk. Oh well. To each their own.

Riku-sensei looks at each of us. "Alright children, before each sparring match you have to make the Seal of Confrontation. It represents that you've come to fight an equal opponent in battle." He demonstrated the seal to us, and Neji and I made the seal to eachother.

"Alright, begin!" Riku-sensei quickly moved out of the way.

I just stayed where I was, standing still, hands in my pockets and just smiling at Neji. Neji himself was in the starting stance of the Academy's Taijutsu style. I guess he's not proficient at gentle fist yet, or he doesn't want to use it.

I started to move my hand and Neji seemed to tense. Wow, I must be really intimidating. All I did with my hand was gesture in front of me at Neji, "You may make the first move Neji," I smiled, "Or I can. It's up to you." I think I heard a few squeals of _Akakiryuuuu-kuuuunnn!_ But I wasn't really paying attention.

Neji seemed to scowl at the gesture and he charged at me. His form was pretty good considering it's only been two weeks, but…

He finally got close to me and he swung his right fist at a low angle, coming up at my face. He seemed to be putting his all into that punch, probably to shut up my arrogant remarks. But in the face of his full power punch, I just side-stepped to his right-side and into his blind spot. I positioned my foot between his legs and gently pushed his shoulder with just enough force to knock him over my leg and onto the ground.

As he soon as he fell on his back, I was on top of his chest, effectively locking his arms with my knees. My fist was cocked back, and I turned to look at Riku-sensei.

He didn't seem all that surprised by the events and he made the call, "Victory, Akakiryu!"

I got up from Neji and gave him a hand and a smile, "Good job Neji-kun, any other opponent and you definitely would have hit me!" I didn't want to put the kid down. I have no intentions of fueling his future hard-ass personality. And to me, everyone around me is just a six-year-old. I'm not fond of beating up kids.

Neji seemed to hesitate at the gesture, but when he looked at my genuine smile and heard my encouraging words, he finally took my hand and I pulled him up.

I dusted his back off and pat his shoulder, never losing my smile. We turned to face Riku-sensei.

He was smiling at our sportsmanship and spoke to the class, "Alright class. After every spar, we have to make a Seal of Reconciliation. It represents that we are still comrades and friendly shinobi." He showed us the seal, "You lock the seal with your opponent's own."

I turned to Neji with a smile and my seal pointed towards him. He looked at the seal and back up at me, gave a slight nod, and formed the Seal of Reconciliation with me. We both walked back towards the crowd to watch the remaining matches.

We ended up standing next to each other, so I decided to speak to the kid. "Neji, if I may give some advice. I've been sparring and learning Taijutsu from my father for a long time, so I have quite a bit more experience than most kids our age."

He looked up at me with his white eyes and nodded.

I took that as a good sign, so I began speaking, "Your initial attack was a genuine strike and you put all of your force into it. However, you don't know my skill level at all, and using all of your strength right away against an unknown opponent is very risky. I would always recommend that when faced with an unknown opponent, you start off with probing strikes, perhaps fast and lighter strikes, or feints."

He looked thoughtful at my words and looked at the ongoing match before us. He noticed the two boys fighting with all of their energy and they looked sloppy, but the commonality was that they weren't trying to understand their opponent. They were brawling.

Neji looked back at me and nodded, "They're sloppy. Shinobi should understand their opponents. I appreciate your advice."

I smiled at the boy and gave a nod. We stood in silence and watched the fights.

Honestly, the majority of our class is just full of civilian kids, and some average kids from shinobi families. Not very interesting. The only clan kids in our class are Neji and me.

I got bored so I just closed my eyes and stood there waiting until it was all finished. I opened my eyes when I heard Tenten's name called, but Tenten was matched up against a civilian girl that seemed to have no clue what she was doing. The match was over in three strikes and I went back to waiting.

Lee's name was called, and it seems that he was up against a kid from a shinobi family. The kid is considered at the top of our class, so it should be a decent matchup.

I was wrong.

Lee is definitely not strong right now. He had his ass handed to him.

I looked at his disheveled form and couldn't help but become thoughtful, 'Lee doesn't start being a King of Hardwork until Guy encourages him, but he's so pitiful that I might as well give him a nudge soon.' I decided to hold onto that thought for later.

* * *

After all the spars were over, we still had quite a bit more time until lunch, so I was wondering what we were going to do.

My questions were soon answered when Riku-sensei spoke up, "Today, we're going to be practicing throwing kunai, while tomorrow it will be shuriken. We'll rotate between the two every other day." We were all in a condition well enough to throw kunai, so the kids were all excited about learning so many new things today.

We each received 5 kunai and were positioned along a line facing a wall of targets. Riku-sensei demonstrated how to throw the kunai and then left us to our own designs.

I held three kunai in one hand, two in the other, and I faced my target. Everyone else seemed a bit hesitant and they hadn't thrown any kunai yet, so I'll be the first I guess.

A round of thumps resounded across the field and everyone turned to see my empty hands in front of me, while all five of my kunai appeared grouped up neatly in the bullseye of the target.

I put my hands back in my pockets, closed my eyes, and stood to wait for everyone to finish throwing their own kunai.

The kids burst out in chatter.

"Are you kidding me?"

"We have never thrown a kunai before at all, and he threw all five at once?"

"He hit the bullseye with all of them, too!"

"Akakiryu-kun is just too cool!"

I didn't bother listening further. I just spent most of the class meditating in place while waiting for others to throw. I only got up to collect my kunai and throw them once everyone was done.

Most of the kids couldn't even hit the target.

The only two that stood out were Neji and Tenten. Neji managed to hit the target most of the time, albeit usually away from the center, and Tenten just seems like she was born for weapons. She could hit the center almost every time.

Tenten received just about as much attention as I did, mostly from the guys. Most guys are still thickheaded at this age, so they were more concerned with how a girl was doing better than them.

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure all male shinobi are thickheaded? I don't think I can recall a single male shinobi that wasn't a pervert or romantically inept. Good thing I have my previous life, or I would probably end up the same. I shuddered at the thought of acting like a middle-school boy in the throes of puberty.

Oh well, I don't plan on thinking of romantic stuff for a while.

* * *

Taijutsu class was over and it was time for lunch. I had started bringing my lunch to taijutsu class so that I didn't have to go back to the classroom to grab it. I found my typical spot under the shade of a tree outside and sat down.

I started eating alone until I noticed someone approach. I looked up and saw Neji standing there holding his lunch.

"Do you mind if I eat with you?" He asked.

'Wow, I didn't think Neji would want to eat with anyone. I guess I made an impression.' I smiled at the boy, "Sure, I don't mind at all."

He sat down under the shade next to me and we ate in silence. I didn't have much to say to a child. Hell, I haven't talked much at all these past few years. The only person that I really talk to is Shisui, and I haven't been seeing him around lately. I'm pretty sure that he and Itachi have already joined ANBU at this point so I'm not surprised. I don't see my Dad around very often either, but I'm pretty sure that's for other reasons. Reasons that worry me.

* * *

After lunch, we returned to the class and Neji sat next to me in my little corner this time around. I'm pretty sure the girl that used to sit next to me was bothered by it, but I think she was too nervous to say anything about it. The girl never spoke to me, that was for sure. Lee was sitting in front of me like always and Tenten was at the front of the class with some of her friends.

Riku-sensei stood at the podium and looked at us all. "Alright class, for the past two weeks, you should have all learned how to form chakra. Now today, we're finally going to start dividing our afternoons into Ninjutsu and Genjutsu class."

The class seemed super excited about learning about actual shinobi moves.

"However, for the rest of the time today, we're going to be doing something different."

And there goes that excitement.

"We're going to be learning a chakra control exercise that will definitely help you in the future." He held up a leaf and smiled, "The leaf exercise."

The class seemed to be giving him deadpan looks so he quickly continued, "You're going to hold up a leaf to your forehead," he put it on his forehead, "and keep it there using only your chakra," he released his fingers.

The kids seemed amazed by how the leaf wasn't falling and so their excitement returned.

Riku-sensei brought out a bag of leaves from the podium and started passing them out. "It will take you all a long time to get it, and you probably won't be able to hold it up for long, but just remember to concentrate and you will be able to do it by the end of the day."

Kids our age should have hardly any chakra at all, so he is right about it not being hard for us. The only issue would be having the kids focus on the task. We're all only 6, so we're not very focused individuals. At least, most of us anyways.

Neji passed me my leaf, but he seemed to hesitate when looking at his. He held up a hand to his forehead and felt the bandages covering his seal.

I knew his plight so I whispered to him, "Neji, just hold it up on your chin." I went ahead and put the leaf on my chin so that he wouldn't be alone.

Neji smiled gratefully at me and began focusing on the exercise. 'huh, he smiled. I guess kid Neji isn't a total hardass yet.'

The leaf on my chin wasn't going anywhere since my chakra control was monstrous already, so I decided to work on something else. Genjutsu.

My fingernails were painted red like my hair, and I've been working on applying genjustsu to them. Usually, I can't work on my genjutsu in class, since Riku-sensei would notice me emitting chakra.

I applied a visual genjutsu that would show an image of me turning to face whoever was caught by it, and then it would show me smile and wink at them. It was harmless, and it would only affect their vision. But boy if it wasn't amusing to see them be startled by my wink. Boys would be weirded out, but girls would usually blush and turn away.

I've been trying to set a condition to it so that it only affected certain audiences. In this case, women. Today, I think I finally figured it out. The guys that looked back at me were startled by me keeping the leaf up, and they were unaffected when I tapped my cheek with my finger to flash my fingernail at them. The girls that looked back would be caught by the genjutsu, I could tell it was effective by the loss of chakra, and it was obvious that the jutsu worked as intended when they blushed. Haha genjutsu was so fun.

* * *

Class was over soon, and everyone was getting ready to leave, but Riku-sensei called out to me, "Akakiryu, I'd like for you to stay after class." I raised an eyebrow at that, but I didn't really care.

The class seemed puzzled as to what Riku-sensei might need me for, but the kids were more concerned with leaving than pondering the issue. Other than my fangirls of course, but I don't really care what goes on in their heads.

Eventually it was just Riku-sensei and me.

"Akakiryu," he looked at me, "I've been wondering, what is the extent of your abilities?"

I looked at him, with my mature sharingan active as always and couldn't help but ask the guy, "Riku-sensei, I have a fully mature sharingan, and I'm only 6 years old. How strong do you think I am?"

His jaw dropped at the blunt remark, but he just chuckled and looked at me, "I think that it's safe to assume that the Uchiha put you through quite a bit of training already?"

I stared blankly at the guy and decided to demonstrate a little. Without even moving my hands, I disappeared in a flurry of leaves. Not even seconds later, I reappeared in the exact same spot with my hands still in my pockets.

Riku-sensei's mouth could probably hold a couple eggs in it with how wide he had it open. "A seal-less Bodyflicker!?"

I chuckled at the man and I couldn't help but remember learning from Shisui.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _Shisui stood there in front of me in a clearing in the forest. He was just smiling at me with his hands in his pockets before he spoke, "Ryu, do you know what I'm famous for?"_

 _My four year-old self just looked up at him with two tomoes in each eye. I replied, "Shisui of the Bodyflicker."_

 _His grin widened at my reply, "That's right, your cousin here is a genius that perfected the use of the Bodyflicker to the point that I'm one of the fastest on the battlefield." He seemed super smug at his achievements._

 _I tilted my head at him, "And?"_

 _He looked me right in the eyes and activated his own sharingan, three tomoe in each eye, and spoke, "I'm going to show it to you."_

 _I got super excited at that. Shisui is without a doubt the foremost expert regarding the Bodyflicker, and to be as good as he is with it would mean that I could literally dance across the battlefield._

 _He disappeared. No leaves, smoke, or feathers. He was just gone. Not even my eyes could see anything more than his afterimage._

 _My jaw dropped. It was the first time I couldn't follow someone's movements._

 _He reappeared, smug grin plastered on his face, "How was it? Cool, right?"_

 _I gave him a dumbfounded look, "How did you do that?" I shook my head and looked more determinedly at him, "Do it again."_

 _He smiled and disappeared, but this time I noticed a bit more of his movements. Not enough though._

 _He reappeared, and I asked for the same thing again._

 _Hours went by and eventually I could follow his shadow, but that wasn't enough for me. The sun began to set, but the look of stubborn determination never left my face._

 _Shisui looked at me, his smug grin somewhat strained, "Are you done yet? I just spent my whole day Bodyflickering around."_

" _One more time." – was all that I replied._

" _You said that an hour ago!" He started, losing a bit of his composure. But he recovered just as fast and looked me dead in the eyes, "Fine, one more time. But then we're going back home."_

 _He moved, and I saw. I watched as his figure became more and more clear in my eyes and by the time he returned, I could see him perfectly._

 _A victorious smile appeared on my face as three tomoes appeared in each of my eyes._

* * *

"How did you learn that?" He asked me with an intent look on his face.

I smiled at him, "Training. Lots of training." I wasn't joking when I said that. To perfect the Bodyflicker takes a lot, and it took me forever to be able to be able to use it in combat. Well, against training dummies and logs anyways.

"Can you do the academy three?"

Looking at him, hands still in my pockets, perfect clones of myself appeared around me. Then I disappeared with a log in my place, and the door opened to show me transformed to look perfectly like Riku-sensei.

"Ah." He looked a bit speechless at everything that just occurred. "Alright, I think I have a bit of an idea. You may go now."

And so, I did.

* * *

 **AN:** I have a question for you all, should the eternal mangekyo sharingan grant the abilities of the implanted mangekyo? Or should it only maintain the abilities of the original mangekyo? There's nothing in the canon story to disprove the fact that Sasuke couldn't use Itachi's Tsukuyomi, and we honestly don't know shit about Madara's mangekyo, so technically it could be possible for the user to gain the abilities of the implanted sharingan. But the issue is, would that be too OP? He won't be getting the EMS anytime soon, but when he does, I don't want him to go from ZERO to HERO. Leave a review telling me what you think. If he should gain the implanted abilities, then I'm going to need more mangekyo ideas.

Things are going really easy for Akakiryu right now in no small part thanks to his overpowered heritage that ensures that he's a genius, BUT! Things will not be easy for him forever, and there WILL be things that he struggles with or is bad at. It's impossible to be good at everything and Akakiryu will hit some roadblocks eventually.

Another question, what do you guys think about him having a genin team? He's able to take the chunin exams alone since Itachi took it alone to become a chunin, but what do you guys think? I already decide who will be his Jonin-sensei, and I know who his teammates would be if he is going to be on a team. Leave a review letting me know.

Till next time,

~ Seeker.


	7. Chapter 7

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** Man, have you guys been keeping up to date with One Piece? So many crazy things are happening, it makes me giddy. I'm probably going to do a One Piece fanfic after I finish this one. I don't like the idea of writing multiple stories at once since that would divide my attention.

I'm really glad that you guys have been giving me responses! Your reviews really help me choose the direction of the story. Akakiryu will be going solo as you guys suggested, and he will gain the abilities of his implanted eyes! He won't be a one-trick pony that only uses his mangekyo like Sasuke does so don't worry about the story becoming dull.

I said in the last chapter that Akakiryu was a low-chunin, but that was just his thoughts. Whether or not that is true is to be determined.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. My plans to usurp Kishimoto's throne have not come to fruition yet, after all!

* * *

 _Akakiryu, after his meeting with Riku-sensei_

Well, I should be training some more, but honestly, I've done that for the past few years, so I think I can tone it down a little. I sleep less than most people too, so time is something I'm not short of. I've already got the chakra of a low-kage, so my plan for immortality is going smoothly. By the time that shit starts hitting the fan in this universe, I will probably be the equivalent of Kisame. Maybe better.

Long story short I deserve a break, so I might as well walk around the village for once.

Walking around the village, I find it nice to see the bustling of the people around me. It's much livelier here than the Uchiha compound. Especially in more recent years.

The damage from the Kyubi attack has lost almost completely recovered, and the scars left are only emotional ones. The villagers are nice and peachy these days.

While I walk around, I put the genjutsu of me smiling and winking back on my fingernails. Every now and then I'll see a blush creep up the face of a woman around me. It never stops being amusing. But god is it tiring being in this tiny body. I was 6'9 in my past life, so I've never really gotten used to being looked down upon.

Oh well, I'm sure it'll get better.

Every now and then I'll come across an Uchiha patrolman and I'll stop and say hi, but for the most part, I don't know anyone in this village. The only person that I'm somewhat friends within my age range would be Shisui, and he doesn't exactly count as a child. But making friends is a bother when you're so much older mentally. I'm good with kids, but I can't befriend them. Too weird. Even if kids are more mentally mature in this world.

I continue to walk past shop after shop with no particular destination in mind. It's interesting to see the variety of things people sell.

As I look at each store, I come across it.

The store. The holy ground of Naruto. I had never spent much time in the village before, so I've never been here yet, but it's here. I found it.

Ichiraku ramen.

It looks… normal. Yeah, I don't really understand the hype. I guess I could try the food.

I walk up to the place and there are no customers there. But I can see a young Ayame with her arms propped up looking bored. It makes sense, it's only like 4 pm. Not exactly dinner time. She notices me approaching, and considering her blush, I think my genjutsu hit her.

I sit down on the stool in front of her and smile a bit wider at her. "Hello, cutie." I send a wink her way. Hahaha, teasing never gets old.

The young ten-year-old Ayame seems to not know how to react. Her blush deepens and she manages to stutter out, "Wh-what would you like to order?"

I glance up at the menu. "I'll have a beef ramen and a glass of water, please." I smile at her and tilt my head slightly. I've learned to use my new body's charms well. I was charming in my last life, but I'm going to be supermodel material in this one. I can pretty much already tell that.

She avoids eye contact with me and calls out to the back, "Dad, a beef ramen!" She turns back to me, and she leans a bit forward on the bar. I think she's on a stool back there. She can't be that tall, considering her age. Her blush has mostly faded, "So what's your name?"

I smile, "Akakiryu Uchiha, although I'm sure you could guess my clan name already." I tap my temples while pointing my finger at my eyes. She doesn't get caught by the genjutsu, since it's a single-activation.

She smiles in return, "Yeah, I figured those weird eyes meant you were an Uchiha. I see them sometimes when the policemen walk around. But I don't really know much about them."

"Want me to tell you a bit?" She nods. "Well, first of all, I can turn them on and off." I demonstrate by flickering between my normal black eyes and my sharingan, "But I prefer to keep them activated for many different reasons."

"Like what?" She tilts her head and asks.

"Well, for one, my eyes are called the Sharingan, and they're the symbol of my Uchiha bloodline. They're a powerful doujutsu that can only be activated by an Uchiha clansman and they allow me many different useful abilities."

She has some stars in her eyes, "Abilities?"

I smile at her and maintain my sharingan, "That's right. My eyesight becomes stronger with each tomoe activated, alongside improved reflexes and memory. I can memorize things with just a single glance. For example, I'll never forget your pretty face." I punctuate my statement with a wink and a tilt of my head.

Ayame turns ripe like a tomato and leans back a little, "Wha-" she turns her head away, "That's um. That's cool I guess."

I smile and lean forward a bit, "Well enough about me, tell me more about yourself. I don't think I caught your name yet, beautiful." Haha, that blush won't be going away for a while.

She looks a bit embarrassed at the realization, "Ah yes, sorry about that. My name is Ayame. I work here with my father, Teuchi. He's the best cook I know and I'm trying to learn everything I can about cooking from him." She smiles and a voice comes out from the back.

"I'm always glad to hear compliments from my lovely daughter!" Teuchi walks out from the back with a steaming bowl of ramen. The man smiles at me, "I'm Teuchi, Ayame's father and the owner of this humble establishment."

Ayame gets up to grab the bowl of ramen, and she talks as she walks back to me, "Dad's the best Ramen Chef in the village." She sets the bowl in front of me and goes to grab my water and chopsticks.

She sets the water down next to the bowl and hands me the chopsticks. I break them and smile, "Oh? I guess this will be quite the treat then."

The first bite is… Good. Yeah, this is really good ramen. Not the exaggerated divine gift that it was hyped up to be, but this is definitely some good food. I might come here often if only to tease Ayame some more.

I piped up to the eager faces watching me, "This is great!"

They show me some happy grins at the compliment, "I told you Dad's the best! Soon, one day, I'll be even better!" Ayame looks super proud. Heh, what a cute kid. Perfect for teasing.

"Oh yeah, you'll have to cook for me some time." I smile and wink at her for the, what was it, fourth time?

She only has mild blush this time. I think she's gaining immunity. What a shame. She nods and grins at me, "For sure!"

Teuchi couldn't help but chuckle at me, "How old are you, young man?"

I mutter after I swallow another bite, "I'm six. I just joined the Academy two weeks ago."

Both Ayame and Teuchi seemed a little stunned. "Wow, you seem much older." They mutter at the same time.

I chuckled at them, "Yeah well, I've always been a mature kid for my age. Even as an Uchiha, I'm hailed as a prodigy. I'm pretty famous among my clansmen, but I'm still unknown in the village. But I hope to be a great Shinobi one day, a symbol of greatness for the Hidden Leaf, just like the first Hokage and Madara Uchiha."

Ayame seemed to get over our age difference quickly… not. "Oh," She gained a weird smile, "Then you should address me as onee-san!"

I set my chopsticks down and looked seriously at her. I nodded, "Right, Ayame."

She put her hands on her hips and leaned closer to me as she glared, "Call me onee-san."

I nodded again, "Will do, Ayame."

"Onee-san."

"Ayame."

"Onee-san."

"Onee-san."

"Ayame."

I put on a triumphant smile, "Okay, Ayame." Holy crap, I totally just Bugs Bunnied her! I've always wanted to do that.

She threw her hands up in the air and looked rather frustrated, "Urgh, whatever!"

* * *

Soon I was finished with my meal. I set the money for the bill on the table and spoke to Ayame, "Well this has been great. I'll come again in a few days to see you again." I smile, wink, and take my leave. "Goodbye, Ayame!"

"Goodbye, Ryu-kun!" Somehow throughout the conversation she started calling me that.

* * *

Two weeks later

I've spent an entire month in the Academy and I've gained nothing. It's been the same routine of me showing up only to show off my greatness to a bunch of 6-year-olds. It was amusing at first, but now it's just fucking irritating. I've developed a small friendship with Neji, and Lee became fond of me when I encouraged him to focus on Taijutsu. I talk every now and then with Tenten, but she seems shy around me. So all in all, all I've done here is gain some brownie points with some future shinobi. Not how I like to spend my time. Therefore, I was ecstatic to hear Riku-sensei ask me to stay after class yesterday.

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _After the last student funneled out through the door, Riku-sensei slid the door shut. I walked down to join him on the same level._

 _He looked at me and asked, "Akakiryu, do you know why I asked you to stay behind?"_

 _I shook my head at him. He answered, "You're too good."_

 _I smirked at him, "How did you figure that out?"_

 _He smirked back and ignored me, "That's why I want you to take the graduation test tomorrow."_

 _His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped a little when I burst out, "Oh thank Kami! I can't stand it wasting my time here!"_

 _Riku-sensei stuttered out, "Y-yeah, well anyways. Come to the Academy tomorrow in the morning at the same time we usually have class. Go up to the Hokage's office and we'll have you take the exam there."_

 _I smiled at him and walked away. I looked at him over my shoulder and waved, "Alright, see you then, Riku-sensei!"_

* * *

So here I am, standing in front of a panel of chunin sensei and the Third Hokage himself.

Hiruzen gave me a grandfatherly smile, "Hello Akakiryu-kun, it seems yet another prodigy has appeared in Kagami's line."

I raised an eyebrow, "You know my ancestor, Hokage-sama?" Dad taught me that Kagami was the ancestor of our line. That's how Shisui is my cousin.

He gave me a smile that held countless emotions, "He was my old teammate. He held a great sense for the Will of Fire. Something that I hope you inherited."

I smiled at the old man, "I won't tell you I have the Will of Fire," His smile froze, "I'll show it to you. As a shinobi, as a son, as a member of the Hidden Leaf, and as a descendant of Kagami Uchiha." His smile returned, bigger than ever.

The Hokage laughed, "Perfect! Let's get on with your exam then, shall we? I hope to see you in action as soon as possible after all!"

Riku-sensei walked up to me with a smile and handed me a couple papers. Hiruzen spoke up, "The first would be the written exam. You will have an hour to finish. Begin."

I picked up the prepared pen and not even ten minutes later it was back down again. "Done."

He nodded, "Right. Please demonstrate the Academy three now."

Three minutes later, I was done with that.

The Hokage smiled at me, "Perfect executions. I couldn't have done them better myself. Let's go test your bukijutsu and your taijutsu, shall we?"

We headed out to the academy training fields where targets were set up. He smiled, "You will have ten shuriken and ten kunai given to you. You must hit 9 out of 10 throws with each weapon and at least one throw with each weapon must hit a bullseye."

I walked up to the table where the kunai and shuriken were laid out prepared. I picked up 8 kunai, 4 in each hand, and held the kunai between my fingers. I turned to the targets and with a flick of each wrist, each kunai found a bullseye in different targets. Without even watching the results, I picked up the last two kunai and presented them in their own targets. The same actions repeated with the shuriken.

Props to the Hokage. The man didn't even seem fazed by my display. He just maintained that kind smile of his and nodded at me when I was done. "Alright then Akakiryu-kun, all we need to see is your taijutsu now. If you would please get into the ring with Riku, then we may begin.

* * *

Akakiryu walked into the ring and stood opposite of his teacher whom he came to know over the past month. Riku held a proud smile on his face as he looked at his prodigy student, despite the fact that he taught the boy nothing new.

The Hokage spoke up, "You will be fighting for three minutes. You will only use taijutsu and you must land at least one hit on Riku. Begin."

Akakiryu smirked at his teacher who held a defensive stance. He knew that Riku wouldn't be taking the initiative since the goal was to grade his taijutsu and no one expected him to actually fight a chunin. But Akakiryu had different plans in mind.

Bending his knees, it only took an instant for a puff of dust to appear while Akakiryu was found in the air delivering a kick to the left-side of Riku's head. Ignoring his shock, Riku put up an arm to block the hit, only to find that the weight behind the hit was too much. Riku was launched back 5 meters before he found his balance again, but Akakiryu was under him in a blink with a high kick delivered under his guard, right into Riku's abdomen.

Riku had the air knocked out of him and he was brought to his knees. He put his arms up to guard his head as he tried to regain the air in his lungs. But in another burst of speed, Akakiryu was behind Riku as he delivered his third kick to the back of Riku's head. The kick was just enough to take out Riku's consciousness and deliver him to an untimely nap.

The Hokage finally let a bit of surprise slip into his expression, as he just witnessed a six-year-old knock out a chunin in three hits. Surprise hardly counts as a factor when fighting a chunin, and Riku even knew a margin of the boy's strength. It was a genuine win.

Akakiryu smirked at Riku eating dirt, but he decided that it was best to help him out. Akakiryu started patting the man's face to wake him up, "Oooiiiii, Riku-sensei. Wakey, wakey! It's no time for a nap you lazy sensei!"

After about 20 pats and couple stifled laughs, Riku woke up. "Who, what, where?" he looked around in a panic with his face covered in dirt and handprints.

Hiruzen chuckled, "Riku, your student has awoken you after the nap he gave you in just three hits. I think it's fair to say that the boy has graduated."

Akakiryu gave Riku, the Hokage, and the panel of chunin a peace sign and a grin. The panel of chunin was muttering amongst themselves in awe about the prodigy, while Riku couldn't help but give the boy a complicated look.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

I arrived home with a fancy new headband on my forehead, only to find the house empty. I'm hardly surprised at the absence of my father. The man has grown more and more distant from me. Oh well.

I settled into bed to relax and read a book for a bit, but then I sensed two chakra signatures approaching the house. Before they even got close enough to open the door, I was already there to open it.

I opened the door to find Shisui standing there grinning at me, "I knew you would graduate! Let's go out to eat to celebrate! But first," he paused, "I want you to meet someone." He moved out of the way to reveal…

Itachi.

I felt a rush of emotions at the sight of the young man, and I expected to panic, but as I gazed upon his face I calmed down. His face held a smile as gentle as the spring breeze, and the long tear ducts beneath his eyes gave the impression of a man beyond his age in years.

The man who would slay my entire clan, if I didn't do anything, gave me a feeling not of fear but of peace.

The boy smiled at me, "Nice to meet you, Akakiryu-kun. Shisui has spoken at length about you to me, and rumors of a prodigy as great as me has reached my ears as well."

I smiled back and gave a slight bow, "To meet Shisui-nii's friend is an honor, I'm sure you're as great as him." That put a smug smile on Shisui's face.

Shisui laughed, "Well then, now that you've met, how about we go get dinner to celebrate the beginning of my little cousin's shinobi career!"

* * *

We had dinner at Yakiniku Q and it was interesting to converse with the figure I admired so much in my previous life. He was mostly quiet as he would just smile and laugh while Shisui would share stories about the two of us. Dinner quickly passed by and it was an experience I'd never forget; Graduation and meeting Itachi for the first time.

Today has been good.

* * *

 **AN** : I kind of skipped around in this chapter, since I didn't want to be holding Akakiryu back. There will be plenty of time for interactions with kids his age in the future, and like it's stated in the chapter, Akakiryu doesn't like hanging around with really young kids right now. He's much more eager to be a shinobi and I'm eager to write about him being one! Plus, Akakiryu is mostly acting reserved in terms of how much of his personality he's showing since he's still supposed to be a young kid, and I want to be able to show more of his real personality.

Next chapter, Akakiryu will meet his jonin-sensei and will have his first mission! Please leave a review!


	8. Chapter 8

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** I'm so eager to write more of this story. It's really interesting trying to plan out how you want an OC to play his part in a canon storyline. But first, Akakiryu has to strut his stuff as a genin!

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. But maybe Akakiryu will become strong enough to take it for me.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

I was told to come to the Academy rooftop to meet my jonin sensei today but I wasn't told who they would be. Apparently, the guy was chosen for me since the Hokage thought he would give me a useful skillset.

I arrived 5 minutes early like always, but I guess the guy doesn't share my policy of being early. Either that or he's exercising his rights as a jonin to show up whenever he wants.

Right at the promised time, I felt a chakra signature rapidly approaching. And sure enough, the man appeared in a swirl of leaves.

Hayate Gekko, Kenjutsu Master of the Hidden Leaf. Someone who died for the most stupid reason ever. Getting his sword caught in a fucking flak jacket. Well here's to hoping he doesn't die this time.

He still has those bags under his eyes, so I wonder if he's sick right now, or if that happens in the future.

He smiled at me, "Yo."

"Hello," I returned the smile, "I'm Akakiryu Uchiha, and I'm assuming you're my jonin-sensei?"

"That would be correct," he gave a slight nod, "How about we sit down and introduce ourselves?"

I gave him a nod and we sat down across from each other, relaxing in the breeze atop the roof.

He began, "I'm Hayate Gekko, a tokubetsu-jonin of the Hidden Leaf. I specialize in Kenjutsu and I'm skilled in the Chameleon jutsu, both of which I plan to teach you. My hobbies include hanging out with friends and training. My dream for the future is to perfect my skill with the sword."

Well, he didn't cough so I suppose he's not sick yet. Or the sickness just isn't bad enough to affect him much.

I nodded at the man's words, "I'm Akakiryu Uchiha as you know, and I'm skilled in bukijutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and fire-style ninjutsu. Oh, and chakra sensing. I don't know my chakra nature type, but as an Uchiha I was expected to be skilled in fire-style, so that's all that my father taught me. My hobbies include reading, hanging out with my cousin Shisui, relaxing in a tree or under clouds, and training. My dream is to become the strongest shinobi and a symbol of power for the Hidden Leaf just as the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha were."

Hayate-sensei smiled gently at me, "A good dream. I hope to help you reach that goal a little faster as your sensei. Usually, there would be an extra test for genin, but due to the fact that you aren't assigned to a genin team and you had exemplary results, Hokage-sama only instructed me to be your sensei."

He clapped his hands, "Now then, most teachers would figure out what their students can do, but I don't really care. I'm more concerned with teaching you my skills. On missions, I won't involve myself in any way unless you're about to die, so you're basically a one-man show. Sound good?"

I smiled and my sharingan spun a little, "Perfect. Absolutely perfect."

He nodded, "Right then. Meet me at training ground three." Not even a second after he finished speaking, he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

I couldn't help widening my grin. This is perfect, the Hokage couldn't have given me a more perfect teacher.

I soon followed my new-found sensei.

* * *

One Month Later

I appeared in the third training ground in swirl of leaves. I was dressed in a black shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back and a mesh shirt underneath. Man, mesh shirts are surprisingly comfortable. And good for training, too. I wore black ANBU pants and had a ninja pouch on my right leg and on the back of my hip. On my back, I had a tanto, which due to my size was the equivalent of a katana to an adult.

I glanced around and spotted a figure by the memorial stone. Not the man I was expecting, but a man I've seen here every now and then anyways. A silver haired man dressed in ANBU gear standing in silence with his finger smoothing over a name upon the stone. Each time I saw him, he would disappear within ten seconds.

I'm not sure what changed today, but the man continued to just stand there. I couldn't help but walk up to the man who I knew so well from another world.

I stood next to Kakashi Hatake and looked at the name his finger was held to. He dropped his finger and I saw it in full: "Obito Uchiha."

I spoke up, "A member of my Clan?"

He nodded. I looked up at him, "Was it him who gave you that sharingan?"

His eye was uncovered, and even if it wasn't, I would still be able to recognize the chakra flow of the shargingan. He looked at me, stared for ten seconds, and nodded, "He gave it to me before he died. A gift for becoming Jonin, he called it. A replacement for the eye I lost and the only reminder I have of my former comrade."

I tilted my head curiously at Kakashi. Why was he opening up to me? I held no pity or empathy in my eyes as I spoke, "A good man. A good friend. A good teammate. I wish I had the chance to meet him."

Kakashi gave me an eye-smile, "Indeed." I suppose the man found something to appreciate in me. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. May I know yours?"

I smiled, "Akakiryu Uchiha. My friends and family call me Ryu. You may call me that."

He raised an eyebrow at that but gave another eye-smile anyways, "Very well, Ryu-kun. May we meet again."

And just like that, Kakashi Hatake disappeared.

I turned to face my sensei who had been watching in silence. He gave me a smile, "I see you met Kakashi."

I nodded. He continued, "I'm surprised he spoke with you. He usually keeps to himself."

I smiled, "Maybe it was my good looks."

Hayate laughed, "Perhaps, Ryu. Perhaps."

He turned serious, "Now then, Ryu. Today I'll be taking you on your first mission. Usually, we're supposed to start with D-ranks, but those are more for teamwork purposes. And teamwork isn't something you need to worry about right now. So, I plan to take you on a C-rank mission, but remember, I won't be helping you unless you're about to die. Do you think you're up for it?"

I wasn't fazed in the slightest and just continued to smile, "Sure. Let's go for it."

* * *

We went inside the Hokage's office to receive my first mission. Hayate stood straight whilst still looking relaxed, while I just stood there with my hands in my pockets with an easygoing smile on my face.

The Hokage gave us a grandfatherly smile from behind his desk, "Your first mission, eh? And a C rank at that! Any preferences?"

Hayate looked towards me.

I wiped the smile off of my face and looked at the Hokage seriously. "Bandit elimination."

The Hokage turned serious as well, "May I know your reasoning?"

"A shinobi will have to kill eventually. It's a fact of the job. And I refuse to be a position where I have to kill but end up hesitating. Hesitation can risk my life or more importantly the lives of my comrades. I refuse to be a liability to my village." I stared at the Hokage and my Sharingan seemed brighter.

Hiruzen and Hayate couldn't help but give nods of approval.

"Very well."

* * *

The next day at around 1 p.m., I met up with Hayate. After filling out paperwork with the chunin gate guards (I was disappointed to not see Kotetsu or Izumo), we set off towards Water-Ox Village.

Two hours of tree-jumping later, we found ourselves at our destination.

Walking towards the village, we were faced with the glares of armed villagers. "Halt," a man with a spear spoke up, "Who are you and what's your business here?"

Hayate, as the leader, spoke up, "We're shinobi of Konoha, tasked with a bandit elimination mission. We were told to get the details of the mission here."

They had relieved looks in their eyes when our identities were mentioned, but the tension never left the air. As if they wanted to go to war. I could feel the burning anger in their miniscule chakra.

An older man stumbled out of the village and the people greeted him.

"Elder."

"Village Leader."

The village leader spoke out to us, "We sent a request for help from the Daimyo, but the bandits came back before you reached us."

The old man dropped to his knees before us, his head bandaged and bloody, and he spoke, "Please, shinobi. They took four young girls from our village when we didn't have the money to pay them." He gained a ferocious light in his eyes, like a cornered wild beast, "They can take our money, BUT I REFUSE TO LET THEM TAKE OUR PEOPLE!"

I spoke up, an eerie calmness about me, "Is that them?" I pointed north, "That group encamped 2 km over there?"

The old man seemed shocked, but put his emotions aside to nod, "Yes."

Hayate turned to me, "Do you have a plan?"

I looked at my sensei, my Sharingan spinning with an eerie light, "Kill."

* * *

 _Bandit camp_

"Another day, another haul, eh boys?!" A burly bandit shouted with a merry voice with a mug in his hand.

"Stupid villagers didn't have enough money this time though." A skinny bandit muttered as he rolled a coin across his knuckles.

"That's why we took the girls," A stern bandit wiping his sword spoke, "They won't forget the money next time. Not after this little warning."

"Yeah but why aren't we having fun with em?"

"You know the boss gets first taste. That's how it's always been."

The four girls in question were huddled fearfully in a tent that was in the center of the camp. It was the largest tent in the camp, and undoubtedly big enough to fit them all. They had some small measure of calm until a hulk of a man walked into the tent with alcohol dripping down his chin.

"Well hello, my pretties!" The man bore a yellow toothy grin at the girls as he took occasional swigs out of his bottle.

The girls struggled in their bondage, but they made no progress other than burning their skin with the rope.

The ugly man's grin grew wider at the sight of his prey struggling, and he made no movements other than to stare at them intently while they panicked.

He would take a step closer every ten seconds or so, and the girls would edge back and increase their struggles in response. The sick game gave the man great pleasure as the girls' skin started bleeding from being torn by the rope.

Finally, he was towering over them and he reached out his greasy palm to grab the clothes of the closest girl. Moving slowly so that they may see their impending nightmare.

The girls could only whimper into their gags with terrified lights in their eyes.

But then, instead of the man grabbing the girl's clothes, his arm was flung into the air alongside a crimson splash of blood. The girls' eyes widened with shock and awe, while the bandit leader's eyes widened with pain.

He was about to let loose a scream until his eyes matched the crimson eyes of a red-haired boy that appeared out of nowhere. Then, he found himself in an abyss of darkness surrounded by clones of himself.

* * *

The bandit leader stood still with his arm gone and his eyes glazed over. Akakiryu didn't pause his gaze on the man for more than a second, instead opting to ungag and untie the girls.

The girls were carefully watching the young boy who saved them with curious eyes. They would glance fearfully at the standing monster a few feet away, but they didn't make a sound. That was until the first girl spoke, "What happened to him?" as she motioned towards the bandit leader with her eyes.

Akakiryu responded, "I placed him in a genjutsu where he was subjected to the horrors of his own desires."

He saw that the girls didn't seem to understand so he clarified, "I put him in an illusion that made him feel like he was being raped by himself."

The girls dropped their jaws at that, but they didn't seem to dislike the idea. Not after seeing what the man planned to subject them to.

"What do we do now?" A girl asked.

Akakiryu gave an evil grin, "Stay still and ignore the screams."

And then he disappeared.

* * *

 _Outside the tent_

The bandits were merry in their celebrations and there was a complete absence of tension in the air.

"Say, do you think the boss can't get it up? I haven't heard anything out of the tent yet."

"Shut up idiot, everyone knows the boss is a sick bastard who plays mind games before he starts." Despite what the bandit said, he laughed while he said it, as if he didn't care about that lack of humanity in the boss he followed.

"Yeah, but-" The bandit stopped speaking and his face froze.

"But what, you moron?" The other bandit looked at his friend. He got no response so he shook his shoulder, "Speak up you-"

His friend's head dropped to the ground with blood spurting from his headless body.

He didn't have a chance to scream as his own head flew into the air.

Slashes appeared out of thin air, attacking the drunk and unsuspecting bandits. They quickly realized that they were being killed off, but they didn't understand who or what was killing them.

Panic ensued.

Some bandits dropped what they held and tried to make a run for it, only to drop dead mid-sprint. Others stood their ground, maybe back to back with another bandit, only to lose their heads as well.

It only took twenty seconds for the bandit camp to be filled with blood and death. Their corpses littered between their tents, fires still raging, food still warm, but no merriment to be found.

Hayate watched all of this from the treeline. His eyes were wide from the ease in which his student caused so much death. He stared as his student stood in the middle of the camp.

Akakiryu just looked around with an expressionless face. He stood in the blood of the bandits, but not a drop of their blood was on his body.

The boy wondered as he looked at his first kills, 'I was always told that killing is an awful feeling. Something that would haunt me for the rest of my life. But…'

He looked around again. He looked at the vermin that were the cause of so much pain and suffering for an unknown amount of people. He looked at the absence of life in them.

And he regained his gentle smile. 'I feel nothing.'

Akakiryu Uchiha stood in the blood of his enemies and he _smiled_.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

The bandits were all dead, the bandit leader died from blood-loss, and the girls and money were returned to the village. There were cheers and thanks, tears of gratitude and offers of rewards, but we didn't stay around. We had the village leader sign off on our mission and we immediately left to return to the village.

We had been tree-jumping our way back and we were about half-way back to the village when Hayate stopped.

"Akakiryu," he spoke, "We need to talk."

He dropped down and sat at the base of the tree he was standing on. I dropped down and sat in front of him.

"Akakiryu," he looked into my eyes, "How do you feel?"

I knew this would come eventually, so I answered, "Honestly, sensei?" He nodded. "I feel nothing. I know I should be shocked at my own capability of taking the life of a fellow human, but I only feel like I took out the trash."

He seemed unfazed, "Elaborate."

I continued, "To most people, being human is a biological thing. We are all born human. But to me, humanity is a concept. It is an identity earned through an understanding of what it means to be human. And Hayate-sensei," I looked him in the eyes, "Those bandits weren't under my definition of a human."

Hayate seemed a little stunned at my words. His droopy eyes gained a tone of alertness. He looked at me, his student, and he told me his thoughts, "Akakiryu, I don't know if you are mentally unstable, or mentally stable. You are totally unfazed by killing another person, but I don't know if that's because you're crazy or if it's because you just hold different understandings."

I'm a bit scared that my teacher might fear me.

Does he think I'm crazy?

Will he shun me forever?

Will he look at me like I'm an animal?

But all of my worries disappeared as I saw my sensei's face regain his gentle smile, his droopy eyes giving me a feeling of comfort.

He smiled at me, "But you're my student. I trust you. I've only spent a month with you, but I've seen the human inside you." But then he had a weird look in his eyes, "But you really shouldn't smile after killing someone. That really freaks people out. Anyone other than me would probably throw you to the Yamanakas to figure out your brain."

I laughed and scratched the back of my head sheepishly, "Yeah, well, I suppose I was relieved that those men couldn't hurt anyone else and relieved that I didn't feel bad for killing them. A smile probably was creepy, now that I look back at it."

Hayate couldn't help but laugh as he saw my reaction. He ruffled my hair and stood up, "Alright," He smiled, "Let's go back to the village."

* * *

AN: Wow, Akakiryu had his first kill and he smiled about it. What a little badass. Let me know how you think this chapter went. I hope I did well. It was a bit fast, I know, but I really want to cut out unnecessary details from this story so that we can get to the juicy parts of the story. Not too fast, but fast enough that you ladies and gents don't get bored. Bandits were no challenge whatsoever in the face of Akakiryu's kenjutsu and Bodyflicker techniques, so the fight wasn't very big. The important part was that these were his first kills.

On a different note, I find myself constantly second guessing myself about what I want Akakiryu's mangekyo abilities to be. He'll end up with four (His two original plus the two from his implanted eyes) but even then, there's so many beautiful options. Let me know what you guys want them to be.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	9. Chapter 9

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** Sorry for not updating recently! I try to update at least once every four days, but I've been mentally debating with myself over where I want to take the story. What I've been debating is how much I want to involve Akakiryu in Clan politics. You'll see a hint of that in this chapter. Hopefully, you ladies and gents won't be disappointed. At the very least, I can guarantee you won't be bored.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. I can't remember the jokes that I've used here and I'm too lazy to go back to check.

* * *

 _Akakiryu, the day after returning from the mission._

After turning in our report to the mission office, we walked outside of the Academy.

 **AN:** I figured I would make this note that the Hokage's office and the mission office AKA Mission Retrieval Desk are both within the Academy. I learned that after researching the fuck out of Naruto lore since I despise plot holes. Although I'm sure you ladies and gents could point out a few plot holes in my story already.

Hayate turned to me, "You have a week of downtime to do whatever you want. You can train or just relax; it's up to you."

I looked up at him, "Actually, Sensei. I wanted you to teach me something."

Hayate displayed mock surprise, "Oh, there's something the Kid Genius wants from me?"

I ignored that, "I want you to teach me how to Reverse Summon myself to get a Summoning Contract."

Hayate turned serious at that, "You do know how dangerous that is, right? If you're unlucky, you could be killed. Nothing spells death like a pissed off Boss Summon. And it doesn't take much to piss one off."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty confident in myself. As long as I don't get killed instantly, I can undo the Summoning to return. And I'm like a cockroach; I doubt I'll die instantly."

Hayate gave me a weird look, "Alright then. I don't use summons myself, so I'd have to get the scroll. I'll give you the scroll tomorrow morning at the training grounds."

That gave me a thought, 'Ah, now that I think about it, couldn't I have just gotten the jutsu from the Uchiha Clan library? Fuck. I'm an idiot.' I gave my thanks to Hayate and we went our separate ways. He went to wherever-Hayate-goes, while I went to the training grounds.

* * *

Sitting on a boulder in the training grounds, I pulled out a piece of paper. But not just any paper. A very special piece of paper. What kind of paper, you ask? A unique kind of paper. Such paper is specifically made for certain uses. What uses? Special kinds of uses. But special in what way? Well-

Alright, I'm done with that.

I look at the piece of paper in my hand and I can't help but wonder why it took me so long to buy one of these damn things.

Chakra paper. It's time to know my affinities.

I stare at it intently and inject my chakra into it.

Sparks fly. Steam fills the air. The paper is gone.

Wowsers. I didn't think shit like that could happen. What do I have? Well I know I have Fire. Then the steam was probably the result of Water clashing with Fire. And then there were sparks, so I have Lightning too.

I guess that means I have three attributes. Huh, neat. Do I have a Kekkai Tota like the Tsuchikage? Or two kekkei genkai like Mei? I suppose I'll figure that out with time. First things first, I need me some Water and Lightning jutsu. I can't be bothered trying to combine Chakra Natures when I don't even have mastery over the basic Natures. What would Water, Fire, and Lightning even combine into anyways? I guess I have to up my training.

* * *

I arrive home and I see my father leaning in the doorway. I'm not exactly surprised since I felt his Chakra Signature a while ago, but he clearly wants to say something to me.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Fugaku-sama wants to finally meet the kid who he's heard so much about." Dad shrugged, "I can't keep saying no to him anymore since you're a genin now. He wants to be able to keep tabs on the new Uchiha prodigy. You know what that means right?" He stared at me with his arms folded.

"Clan politics, huh?" I sighed.

Dad nodded, "That's right. I can't keep you out of them anymore. Now that you're a genin, you have no reason to stay away from it all. Plus, you've been an adult according to Uchiha customs ever since you were able to use the Great Fireball Jutsu."

* * *

 _Flashback_

 _Akakiryu had turned four years old, and Kuro was finally willing to teach him some Fire Style Jutsu. They stood facing a lake._

" _Son," Kuro spoke, "What I'm going to teach you has great significance for our Clan. Being able to use this jutsu means that you're an adult. It's almost as important as awakening your Sharingan. Usually, I should be giving you a speech about what it means to be a great Uchiha, but you're too smart for your own good. I'm sure you would rather learn on your own what it means to be an Uchiha, rather than be told."_

" _Instead," he smiled, "Let me just show you how to do the jutsu. Watch carefully."_

 _With a flourish of hand seals and a puff of his chest, a massive ball of flames came to life over the lake._

" _ **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**_ _!"_

 _Kuro turned back to Akakiryu with a grin on his face, "Now, the hand seals for this jutsu are-"_

" _ **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**_ _!"_

 _Kuro could only stare blankly, as his child released a fireball 1.5x bigger than his own._

 _Akakiryu turned to his father, two tomoe Sharingan active, with a shit-eating grin on his face. "How did I do?"_

 _Kuro looked at his son with dead eyes, "Not bad."_

* * *

Kuro couldn't help but mutter bitterly at the memory, "Stupid little monster. We called you Little Dragon because of your name; we didn't intend for you to literally be a little dragon. Stupid ridiculous fire affinity. Showing up your own father when he finally has a rare chance to be cool."

"Dad?" I spoke up, "Whatcha mumbling over there?"

He jolted, "Ah nothing. Anyways, Fugaku-sama invited us to dinner at his house tonight. So be ready before 5."

Alright, I've got a few hours then. "Hey, Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any Water or Lightning Jutsu scrolls that I could have?"

Kuro turned wide-eyed at me, "Don't tell me…" He stopped himself, "Nevermind, I really don't want to know. I'll go grab them for you. Anything other than what I have, you'll have to find at the Clan library."

* * *

After reading over jutsu scrolls for a few hours, I got ready for the dinner. I washed up and put on a black formal kimono with the Uchiha crest on the back, and it was held together by a red waistband. First impressions are important after all. My hair was as usual though.

I met up with my Dad at the door and he gave me an approving look. He himself was outfitted in a similar kimono, but his was dark blue with a black waistband. We didn't speak further and just walked our way towards Fugaku's home. Our geta clicked and clacked against the stone roads as we walked.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the smiling faces of Fugaku and Itachi, with Sasuke standing quietly next to his brother. They were dressed formally like us and were waiting for us at the gate of their home.

"Welcome," Fugaku spoke, "Mikoto is inside getting dinner ready. Kuro, we can have some tea while the boys can get to know eachother."

My Dad smiled, "That sounds great." He turned to me, "Good with you, Ryu?"

I smiled at my Dad, "Of course," I turned to Itachi, "I've already met Itachi-nii thanks to Shisui-nii, and," I directed my smile at Sasuke this time, "It would be nice to get to know another Uchiha my age."

My Dad and Fugaku chuckled at this while Itachi smiled gently. Sasuke seemed very curious about me and his eyes were opened wide at me, as if he was trying to see through all my secrets with his eyes. Just like a true Uchiha! Haha!

We were led inside, and my Dad went off with Fugaku, while I followed Itachi and Sasuke into another room. It was a large house and there were plenty of rooms. We went into a room that was likely for entertaining guests. It was empty except for a few sitting cushions and a table to sit around.

Itachi and Sasuke sat down first, and I sat down opposite Sasuke with Itachi between us.

I turned to Itachi, "Itachi-nii, would you mind if you introduced us?"

He smiled, "Not at all. This," He put an arm on Sasuke's shoulder, "Is my little brother, Sasuke. He's five years old."

Sasuke knocked Itachi's arm away with a pout, "Nii-san I can introduce myself." He smiled at me, "Like nii-san said, I'm Sasuke, and you are?"

I smiled at the younger version of Kishimoto's love-child, "I'm Akakiryu. I'm a year older than you."

"EHhhh?!" He turned cow-eyed at me, "You're only a year older than me?! But you're so big! And your Sharingan is fully matured!"

I couldn't help but laugh and scratch the back of my neck. He wasn't wrong, I'm definitely bigger than most kids my age. "Good genes I guess. Or maybe it's my training? I don't know."

"Training?" That got Sasuke's attention. "You're in the Academy huh? What have you learned?"

"Actually, Sasuke," Itachi interrupted, "Akakiryu is a genin."

"WHAAAT!?" Man, Sasuke has big eyes. "But he's only 6!"

"Akakiryu graduated early, like I did. But he did it a bit differently. He was only in the Academy for a month."

I swear I can see question marks floating around Sasuke's head. He turned to me, "How did you learn everything in a month?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little at that, "I didn't. I learned everything before I joined the Academy." Time to redirect the fire, "Hasn't Itachi been teaching you stuff?"

Itachi had some sweat-drops appear on his face and he seemed to have found the ceiling interesting. I didn't think Itachi could even have that kind of expression. Sasuke, on the other hand, was glaring at Itachi with a pout on his face, "No! He's too busy. He always brushes me off with excuses, 'Another time Sasuke.' 'Maybe tomorrow, Sasuke.' Always with the excuses!" He threw his little arms in the air.

Wow I really hit the sore spots of these brothers, didn't I? Well, I've always been more of the Chaos alignment anyways.

Something seemed to click in Sasuke's head at that moment and he suddenly stopped. His head snapped at me, "Wait." I don't like the smile on his face. "If you're a genin, can't you teach me stuff?"

Shit. Alright, all I have to do is deflect the question. Easy. "Um, I don't think-"

Itachi interrupted me and I swear I saw an evil look in his eyes, "That sounds like a great idea, Sasuke. In fact, Akakiryu is a genius greater than I am. Shisui even told me that he's probably stronger than most chunin." I see through your calm façade, dumb-head Itachi! And screw you Shisui! Giving out vital info like that!

"Really?" Sasuke had stars in his eyes, damnit. "Alright, it's settled then! You'll teach me!"

Oh hell nah. There's no way I'm dealing with duckbutt. I was about to convince the little tike otherwise, but a sliding door interrupted me.

Mikoto appeared in the doorway dressed in a lovely light blue kimono. She looked at us and I could see the mirth in her eyes. She smiled at us, "Time for dinner, boys."

And there goes my chance to escape the burden of Sasuke. Fuck. I'll have to think of something to brush him off with.

* * *

We had sat around the table in their dining room and ate. I never really got used to the idea of not talking while eating. Japanese people and their customs. Or should I say Land of Fire People? I don't know. Mikoto's food was great though.

After we finished, Mikoto cleared the table and I knew it was time for a chat with the great Wicked-Eyed Fugaku-sama. Stupid politics.

Fugaku sat up straight on his cushion with his hands on his knees as he stared at me intently, "So Akakiryu, you're a genin now."

I replied, "That's correct, Fugaku-sama."

"And have you gone on any missions? Likely D-rank I presume."

"I have only had one mission, but it wasn't a D-rank." I spoke unwaveringly.

That surprised Fugaku a little, "Oh?" He glanced at my Dad, but he shook his head since he didn't know anything about it. "Was it a C-rank then?"

"That's correct, Fugaku-sama."

"And why is it that you didn't take any D-rank missions first? It's not unheard of to skip D-rank missions, but that's usually in times of war." He was quite curious about my situation. Hmm.

"Well, due to my graduation circumstances, I wasn't placed on a team but rather alone under the tutelage of a jonin-sensei."

"Interesting. Well, who is your jonin-sensei and what was your mission?"

"My sensei is Hayate Gekko, a tokubetsu-jonin that specializes in kenjutsu. I've learned much from him. As for my mission, it was a bandit elimination mission."

"I see," Fugaku nodded, "I think I've heard of the man. Bandit elimination, though? Unusual for a first mission."

I spoke calmly, "I requested it. I didn't want to go into a battle with comrades without having first known the sensation of killing." Surprised looks appeared on everyone's faces. A little fear was on Sasuke's face. I bet he's surprised that someone my age is already killing others. Or should I say, someone _his age_.

Fugaku regained his bearings just as quickly as he lost them. He nodded in approval, "A true Uchiha. You made a wise decision for both yourself and others." My dad was just looking at me with a complicated expression. I bet he didn't want me killing so early. "So how did it go?"

"We gathered information on the bandits' location from the town that sent out the request. The bandits had recently captured women from the village, so we had to immediately go to the bandits' camp. They were about to be raped when I arrived, but I intervened."

Everyone had uncomfortable faces at the mention of rape. Rape is the worst crime in this world, especially for Clans with a bloodline like ours. "Typical bandits." Fugaku spat, "So, what happened after that?"

I didn't change my expression, but the air seemed to freeze as I spoke, "I killed them all." In less than twenty seconds, but I didn't feel like adding that fact.

"How do you feel now?" My Dad spoke this time. His Sharingan was active; he's probably stressed out from my words.

I looked at my father, our Sharingans locking gazes, "The same as always. I feel no remorse at the killing of my enemies. Especially not trash such as those bandits."

A moment of silence spread across the room. Mikoto chose that time to walk back into the room, but she turned around and walked back into the kitchen almost as soon as she walked in. She's probably thinking, 'Not my problem.' I laughed internally at the thought. She likely just wants to give us room, but it's amusing to think that she just wants to dip out.

Fugaku turned to Sasuke this time, "Sasuke, go help your mother with the dishes." Sasuke looked like he wanted to speak up, but Itachi gave him a glance that made him shut his mouth.

After Sasuke left, Fugaku spoke again, "Well then. I have some other questions for you, Akakiryu."

I smiled, "You may call me Ryu, Fugaku-sama."

He nodded with a slight smile, "Very well, Ryu." He turned stern again. "What does being an Uchiha mean to you?" He stared at me with intensity; it felt like he had his Sharingan active. This man is much stronger than he is made out to be.

I took a pause for a moment to think. "To be an Uchiha," I spoke, "Is to be better than your peers. We're inherently superior to our fellow shinobi and we have a remarkable number of famous shinobi that hail from our Clan." Fugaku looked approvingly at me, but Itachi had a different look in his eyes. "But," I turned serious, "We have a problem. It's something that has become terribly obvious to me over the years, despite how short I've lived."

"Oh?" Fugaku had a small frown on his face, "And what would that be?"

"Pride." Itachi and my father had unreadable expressions on their faces, but Fugaku's frown deepened.

"What do you mean by that?" Fugaku may be frowning, but his eyes were thoughtful.

"Let me ask you a question of my own, Fugaku-sama. What does pride mean to you?" I asked calmly.

Fugaku loosened his expression, "My pride is being an Uchiha. My pride is my sons and my wife. My pride is my Clan. To be the best, and to let everyone know that we're the best. As you said, we're superior to other shinobi and I am proud of that."

"But that's the issue, Fugaku-sama. Our entire clan holds a similar thinking to yours. As Uchiha, we're concerned with being Uchiha. We hate being disparaged, while at the same time we disparage others. We act cold to the others in the village, but we expect warmth. I believe respect is a two-way road, yet we expect it to come in only one direction. It's clear to me we're being pushed away by the village, but it doesn't seem like we're making any progressive motions to fix that problem. Instead, we've become colder."

"I see." Oops, Fugaku had a cold face now. "We'll have to speak more at length another time. You seem to hold some _interesting_ thoughts." Itachi was looking at me intensely now. I feel a toy on the shelves while Itachi wants to buy me. You couldn't tell from looking at his face, but I could see it in his eyes. I shuddered a little bit. My Dad on the other hand, has never been more unreadable. It's odd. The man has always been expressive, but whenever I mention something about the Clan he puts on a poker face.

Fugaku stood up and we all stood as well. "It has been a pleasure having you over, Kuro." He spoke to my father and then turned to me. His face was expressionless now, "And it's been nice getting to know you, Akakiryu." He's not using Ryu anymore. I think I ticked off the Clan Leader. A bad move for anyone in a clan, but at least it means a free-pass from politics.

Fugaku and Itachi walked us out to the entrance to see us out. It had already gone dark outside. My father spoke a few words quietly with Fugaku while I stood off to the side with Itachi.

I joked with Itachi, "I guess I made a bad first impression."

He couldn't help but smile at me, "He doesn't like any negative comments about the Clan. He's been stuck with a one-way mindset ever since the Kyubi attack. You'll be fine though."

I changed the subject, "So, do I still have to teach Sasuke stuff?"

Itachi chuckled, "You could always brush him off like I do and only teach him occasionally. I'm sure you don't have much time as it is."

"I at least have more time than you and Shisui-nii do." I smiled.

"That's true. I'll tell him where you live so that he can chase after you." He smiled back.

I groaned a bit, "Yeah okay. I'm only teaching him some taijutsu and maybe shurikenjutsu."

"I'm sure he'd be happy with that. I'd prefer you didn't teach him that much anyways. I want him to enjoy a childhood that we didn't have." Itachi looked a bit wistful as he spoke, glancing in the direction of the house.

My father and I soon left.

* * *

 **AN** : Akakiryu has effectively separated himself from Clan Politics, but what will his future with the Clan hold? And what is Kuro thinking? The world may never know. Well, yes it will. But only in due time, my lovely readers!

Next chapter: Summons!

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	10. Chapter 10

"Speech"

'Thought'

Jutsu: **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu**

 **AN:** I hope everyone had a nice Fourth of July, I know I did! Here's a chappy to celebrate 4 days after the fact! Better late than never, I always say! I wrote half of this chapter and then just didn't write the other half until now. Shame on me! Hahaha

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. It's on my list for "things to steal when there's a chance" though.

* * *

 _Akakiryu_

On the walk home, it was silent with nothing but the sounds of our Geta clacking. My father then finally spoke, "Son." He stopped walking and looked at me, his Sharingan active. His face was totally expressionless.

I turned to him, putting on my own poker face, "Yeah, Dad?"

He stared at me intently and I could feel a crushing pressure from his stare, "Tell me, what do you _really_ think about the Uchiha?"

I showed nothing outwardly, but I was freaking out inside, "What do you mean?" 'Oh sweet baby Indra, please spare me from that damn fatherly intuition.'

He leaned a bit closer to me, staring right into my eyes, "You have some thoughts that you aren't sharing."

I cracked, "Do you really want to know, Dad?" He nodded. "The Uchiha, are animals forced into a corner, and if we try to bite back, we're going to get eaten."

He maintained his poker face. Hell, not even his eyes wavered. It's almost as if… he knows. My Dad is becoming more and more unfathomable to me. "Alright, with that done, let's go home." He just turned and walked away, as if the bombshell I just dropped was a fucking dud.

I'm confused, did he not hear me? What is this man thinking? What is _my_ _father_ thinking?

We got home, Dad went to bed, and I just spent the night awake with my thoughts overloading my brain.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

I met up with Hayate at the training grounds. He just stood there casually with his hands in his pockets and his eyes looking as droopy as ever. The dude always looks like he's either been awake all night or slept all day. It's totally contradictory but that's just how it is. He's just relaxed in such a weird manner.

He immediately noticed my arrival and threw a scroll at me. I caught it and asked, "This it?"

He nodded, "That's right. Now, don't die. A contract isn't worth your life. If it gets dangerous, just leave. I'll meet up with you tomorrow. I want to teach you something new, it should help you immensely." And just like that, he was gone. I've got quite the Sensei. He's always the Individualist.

I sat on a rock and started to study the scroll. Mhmm, yes. I see.

Five minutes later, I stand up and get ready.

I fly through the required hand seals, bite my thumb, slam my palm on the ground, and then I disappear in a plume of smoke.

* * *

I appeared in a forest of pure darkness. I could see the woods surrounding me, but I couldn't sense any living being other than plants. I'm supposed to meet my summons here, but even my absurd level of chakra sensing can't feel anything. Did I fuck up the jutsu? Impossible. I'm not tooting my own horn here, but I'm pretty good at this shit. So where are they?

I look around, and I look, and I look. Even my eyes see nothing, and I can see things on a fucking molecular level. I don't understand. WHERE ARE MY FUTURE DOPE ASS SUMMONS!?

I keep frowning as I look and look.

"WHOOOOOO!?" "WHOOOOOOOOOO!?" "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!?"

I find myself suddenly surrounded by a myriad of black birds that range in size from a cat to the size of a bear. Their eyes glow in the forest as they stand along the branches in the forest. I can see them, but I can't sense their chakra at all. I can't even feel their existence, the only thing that tells me that they're real is the pressure of their stares. If it wasn't for my Sharingan, I would probably think that this is a genjutsu.

Owls.

Cool.

I turn on the spot to look all around me and I see that they've totally surrounded me.

Abruptly they all stop hooting at me and they each lift a wing in a single direction. The Owls seem to be guiding me. Hopefully to their leader. I soooo want a contract with Owls. Owls are dope. Definitely underrated birds of prey. Nothing spells death in the dark like an Owl does.

I go to where their wings point and continue walking in the forest as more and more Owls seem to appear around me. As if no matter where I went, they would find me. They seem to be large in numbers, as each bird that I've seen is unique. I know Motoi from Kumogakure had Owls as a summons, but these Owls are clearly different. They seem like… Pure omens of Death. I have no doubt in my mind that if they wanted me dead, I would die. And I wouldn't be able to escape. However, at the same time, I feel strangely comforted by their presence.

Eventually I'm guided into a clearing, but despite there not being any overhead trees, I can't see the moon. I can't even see the stars. As if this whole area just consumes light. If I didn't have the Sharingan, I doubt I would be able to see anything at all.

What I do see in this clearing, is a single tree. It seems to be an Elm tree, but this tree is overwhelmingly bigger than all others in sheer size. It towers above me for what seems like kilometers in length. And its width is easily 300 meters.

But despite the monstrosity of plant life that appears before me, my attention is gathered to a different giant.

Burrowed into the middle of the tree is a massive library that lines the inside of the trunk. And perched upon a pedestal that looks like a cane made of golden wood, is a massive black Owl the likes that I have never seen before. Well, I mean, I've never seen bear sized Owls either, but this bird really takes the title. It was well over 20 meters tall. Gamabunta was only around 17 meters from what I remember.

This giant Elder Bird is staring down at me from atop its golden perch, and he or she (I honestly can't tell the gender), seems rather interested in me. Although its droopy eyes are uncharacteristic of an Owl, I know for a fact that this Owl has keener eyes than any other Owl around here. Eyes that might even be better than mine. For now, anyways.

"Whooooooooooo are youuuuu, boy?" It spoke with a deep voice and drawn out words. I suppose Owls don't lose their verbal ticks. I'm amused, but I don't show it.

I regained my gentle smile and took a deep bow towards this creature that undoubtedly deserves my respect. "My name is Akakiryu Uchiha, oh Great Elder." I maintained my bow as I continued, "How may I address you, Great Elder?"

I couldn't see it, but I could feel it lean towards me whilst never leaving its perch. We're separated by well over a hundred meters in length, but just by the Great Owl leaning closer to me, I feel far more pressured.

"A wise boy, I see. Youuu may address me as the Great Owl Sage. I assumeee youuuu seek a contract, but dooooo youuuuu have the ability tooo doooo what none before youuuu have?" It inquired.

I maintained my bow, "I wish to take your test to prove I am worthy, Great Owl Sage."

"Very well. Raise your head, boy." I straightened up to face the Great Owl. "I will ask youuuu three riddles, get one wrong and your life is forfeit, get them right and youuu shall profit."

Riddles, hmm? Well I suppose that's fitting for an owl. "I accept. Please, tell me your riddles, Great Owl Sage."

Can Owls nod? Well, the Great Owl Sage just nodded so I guess Owl Summons can, at least.

The Owls that were in the forest are all perched on the branches of trees on the edge of the clearing to watch the proceedings. The Owl Sage spoke thus, "I am the black child of a white father, a wingless bird, flying even to the clouds of heaven. I give birth to tears of mourning in pupils that meet me, even though there is no cause for grief, and at once on my birth I am dissolved into air. What am I?" Weird, his verbal tick is gone.

The Owls watching seemed excited as they shook their wings around and hooted to each other.

"The Great Sage's riddle!"

"Truuuuly impossible to solve!"

"The pinnacle of wisdom!"

I couldn't help but let amusement show on my face, "You are Smoke."

The Great Owl Sage nodded. "That is correct."

The Owls in the surroundings all had their eyes open wide and their beaks opened exaggeratedly, "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTT!?" I don't think these guys get many guests around here.

"Next riddle." The Owl Sage announced, "If 20 blackbirds are on a fence and you hit one with a kunai how many remain?" Does his verbal tick not appear when he does riddles? It's bothering me.

The Owls in the surroundings comforted eachother, "There's nooooo way he can get this one."

I answered, "None, they would all fly away."

The Great Owl Sage nodded again. "That is correct as well."

I just ignored the stunned Owls in the trees. Birds of wisdom my ass. I guess no bird can escape being bird-brained. Except maybe the Great Owl Sage.

"The final riddle," The Great Owl Sage ruffled its feathers. "What is the dumbest animal on dry land?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at that. I can't believe dumbass riddles like these are the key to getting a contract. The only good one was the first one.

I smiled and matched the gaze of the elder owl, "A fish."

The Great Owl's beak formed into a smile. I won't question how that's possible. "Youuuuu pass."

The forest around me erupted in hooooots of disbelief. Bruh, it's just riddles.

The Great Owl Sage didn't even move, but a gust of wind lifted me off my feet and brought me into the Library Burrow. I was dropped at the bottom of his pedestal where a smaller pedestal stood. It was made of gold and textured like wood, the same as its larger counterpart. What it held was different though; it held a pitch black, giant scroll.

The scroll opened up on its own and the end rolled to my feet. It was totally blank. I would be the first contractor of the Night Owls.

A brush and ink flew into my hands from across the room. I assume the Elder gave them to me. I wrote my name in a quick flourish of strokes. My name was written clearly on the first place of the scroll, but the words had a spirit to them. I've mastered calligraphy in this life, so my writing is able to embody my intent.

I bit my right thumb and dabbed my blood on the tips of each finger of my right hand. I pressed my bloody finger prints into the bottom of the scroll below my name. As soon as that was done, the scroll automatically rolled back up and laid still on the pedestal.

I felt a sudden connection with each Owl around me, and I could finally sense their presences. The Owls seemed to realize it too, as hoots rang endlessly throughout the forest.

The Great Owl Sage spoke thus, "Akakiryuuuuu Uchiha, youuuu are now the contractor of the Night Owls, and as such, youuuu are always welcome in the Forest of Eternal Night. Youuuu may summon any of us, including myself, as long as youuuu pay the appropriate sacrifice. Youuuu may doooo whatever youuuu wish with the contract. Youuuuu may leave it here or carry it with youuu, and youuuu may let anyone sign it as long as youuu deem them worthy. Of course, we don't have to follow any orders we don't want to. May youuuu be wise and bring death to your foes."

I bowed to the sage and was sent back.

* * *

AN: Tada! Akakiryu the man of the Owls! Owls are cool animals, and their abilities of stealth are renowned in the animal kingdom. Not to mention how they are Omens of Death, Symbols of Wisdom, and just all around cool birds. But will Owls be his only summons? Who knows? They're definitely his main summons, though. Let me know what you guys think.

I feel like there was something I wanted to address with everyone, but I can't remember. Oh well.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** I bet you ladies and gents thought I was dead. It's been a while but I'm still here c;

Btw what I wanted to address last chapter; those riddles weren't entirely mine. I totally copied the first one and the last two were just changed versions of other riddles. I basically just googled "Bird riddles" and those were some that I picked out. But yeah, don't give me credit for those.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents. Or do I? Nope. Sadly :c

* * *

 _Akakiryu, the next day._

I'm here waiting in the training grounds for the poof of smoke that represents my sensei's arrival, but I'm early like always.

I didn't have to wait much longer as Hayate arrived on time as per usual.

I spoke up to the eternally drowsy-looking Hayate, "So, sensei, what is this great piece of knowledge that you wish to impart to me? Supposedly it's going to be of great help to me?"

"Well, Ryu, something that I've noticed about you over the time that I've known you is that you have an immense amount of chakra for your age and rank. And I just so happen to know a jutsu that is perfect for those who have such stupidly large reserves of chakra."

"And that is?"

"The Shadow-Clone jutsu."

Fuck yeah.

"Do tell me more, sensei." I spoke whilst suppressing my inner excitement.

"The Shadow-clone jutsu is a tangible form of the clone jutsu. It allows one to truly clone themselves. The jutsu is used mainly for infiltration and surveillance due to its memory transfer capability. The user of the jutsu splits their chakra to create a clone that takes up the form of the user. This clone is tangible and therefore does have some effects in combat, however the clone is weak to attacks of any kind and so a single hit is enough to dispel the clone. Hence it is mainly used for other purposes."

"And why would this be of such great help to me?" I said with a poker face.

"Well, that would be because of what I use shadow clones for."

"And that is?" Now, I'm genuinely curious.

"A secret sword technique. I mix the use of shadow clones and the Chameleon Jutsu to create the illusion of an omnipresent swordsman on the battlefield. By going in and out of invisibility with the Chameleon Jutsu while using shadow clones, I confused my enemies by constantly giving and taking away their target. This allows me to totally control the battlefield. Of course, this doesn't work on users with doujutsus or chakra sensors, but most shinobi don't have such capabilities. My point is that I would like to pass on this technique to you."

Aw, I'm touched, Hayate. "That would be my honor, Hayate-sensei." I gave a slight bow.

"Alright, originally I gave you a week of downtime, but I'm guessing this is what you want to do."

I nodded. Hell yeah, shadow clones and a secret technique. Dope.

* * *

 _A few days later_

It only took Akakiryu a couple days to learn Hayate's jutsu and after training with Hayate, he decided to go to Ichiraku's for dinner since he didn't feel like cooking anything today. Plus, he felt like celebrating. It's not everyday that you learn a secret sword technique, and now that he has Shadow Clones, he has all the time in the world.

He's coming at a weird time, so he isn't surprised to see a bunch of empty stools at the counter. What makes it interesting for Akakiryu is that two stools are taken by some notable individuals. Akakiryu pauses in his steps for a moment before walking over with a weird smile on his face.

"Hokage-sama, I didn't expect to see you here." Akakiryu looked at the old man with raised eyebrows and a smile.

The Hokage and his dinner-mate turned to the new red-haired arrival with surprise. "Oh, Akakiryu-kun? I think I'm just as surprised to see you here. You don't strike me as the ramen type."

Akakiryu shrugged, "Well being an Uchiha, I guess it makes sense that I would be eating healthier foods, but Ichiraku's makes great food and I'm a fan of good food. Plus, I made friends with Teuchi's daughter, Ayame, so I like to come by to eat every now and then." Akakiryu put his hands in his pockets and raised an eyebrow, "But what about you, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen gave a gentle smile, "I'm having dinner with a good friend of mine, he's a year younger than you. Introduce yourself, Naruto."

The blonde-haired kid with orange shorts and a white tee, gave a wide grin to Akakiryu and threw his hand up in a peace-sign. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meetcha!"

Akakiryu, whilst clearly knowing who Naruto was, put up a display of faux surprise, "Uzumaki?" He turned to give the Hokage a look of suspicion.

Hiruzen immediately noticed the look and only said, "Another time."

Akakiryu gave a slight nod to the Hokage and turned back to Naruto with a smile, "My name is Akakiryu Uchiha, nice to meet you Naruto."

Naruto was happy to see someone being friendly to him, and he immediately spoke his thoughts, "So you're only a year older than me? But you're so big! And what's up with your eyes? And are you already a ninja? How are you a ninja when you're only a bit older than me!"

Hiruzen couldn't help but laugh at Naruto's antics, "Naruto, how about we let Akakiryu-kun order his meal?"

"Alright, oyaji." Naruto was keen to wait for his ramen anyways.

The rest of Akakiryu's time at Ichiraku's was uneventful as Teuchi had sent Ayame out on a supply run and the Hokage and Naruto left after their meal with Hiruzen looking wistfully at his wallet while Naruto couldn't be happier. Akakiryu didn't see Ayame, but he had met the blonde-haired punk of Konoha. So, it was an interesting dinner.

* * *

The Next day

Akakiryu had been given a day off by Hayate as a reward for learning the technique, but he didn't plan to relax. He got up, got dressed in training clothes, made himself a healthy breakfast alone, ate that breakfast alone, and went to the backyard to do his morning routine. This time, he had more things to do.

With the advent of the wonders of shadow clones into Akakiryu's life, he had so much more he could accomplish each day. That meant adding more into his morning routine.

Akakiryu made himself nine shadow clones. One each for kenjutsu, taijutsu, shurikenjutsu, kunais, senbon, chakra control, and the final three were for working on his three different chakra natures. He had made incredible progress in working on his fire-nature change, but there is no limit to the heat of his flames. Just as there is no limit to his other natures of water and lightning.

As each clone began working on their respective exercise, the backyard became filled with noise. The contact noises of kunai and shuriken, limbs cutting through the air, the buzzing of chakra, and the almost soundless thuds of senbon.

The original Akakiryu began his own workout. Clones aren't able to improve the physical body, so Akakiryu had to take it upon himself to breakdown and rebuild his body into well-forged steel. He had his chakra weights strapped on to his waist, wrists, and ankles, but he didn't have any seals painted on himself. In the fanfictions he read in his previous life, it was popular for OCs to put gravity seals on themselves, so that they could train every inch of their bodies. But that's total bullshit. The human body isn't outfitted to withstand ridiculous gravity levels, and until Akakiryu can learn the necessary medical expertise to strengthen his organs, he can't do such training. If he tried gravity seals now, his heart would stop, lungs collapse, digestive tracts halt, and his brain would likely fuzz out. There's a reason why no other shinobi in this universe did stuff like that. The only person that could probably do stuff like that is Kakuzu or Orchimaru. Kakuzu has his Jiongu while Orchimaru has modified his body to an inhuman degree. Not even Hidan could do it since the man's body is normal aside from the whole immortality jazz.

After a couple hours, Akakiryu stopped and rested for a couple minutes before dispersing his clones one at a time. The rush of knowledge was almost euphoric as he could feel himself becoming impowered through no effort of his own.

Once he dispersed all of his clones, Akakiryu went back into his house to take a shower. Akakiryu usually ended up taking two or three a day due to him constantly working out. After his shower, he dried off, put on his shinobi gear and ate a foodpill before heading to the door. He was going to head to the training grounds to work on his ninjutsu since he couldn't use jutsus of mass destruction in his own backyard.

He was putting on his shinobi sandals when he heard a loud knock on the door. Akakiryu raised an eyebrow since he rarely had guests. Shisui never knocked when he showed up, he just usually appeared next to him. And his Dad always met people somewhere else.

Curious, Akakiryu tried feeling out the chakra of the person outside. It was familiar. Akakiryu's face couldn't help but twitch as he sighed and opened the door for…

Sasuke.

The kid was in a black shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back and white boy-toy shorts. He was wearing the normal blue shinobi sandals with bandages wrapped around his feet. He had a kunai pouch on his hip, his hair in typical duck butt form, and his black eyes were staring eagerly at his older distant cousin.

It was clear to Akakiryu what the kid was here for, but he figured he would mess around with the kid.

"Ah, well if it isn't Sasuke. What could you be doing here?" Akakiryu put on a look of surprise and confusion as he tilted his head. 'So much for my day off. Well, I was going to spend it training anyways but still.'

Sasuke's face morphed into a bit of a pout as he clambered, "Ryu-san, don't tell me you forgot your promise?"

Akakiryu crossed his arms with one of his hands on his chin in wonderment, "A promise? I can't remember making such a thing?"

Sasuke continued to glare at Akakiryu and looked ready to pop when Akakiryu piped up again, "I do think I remember being asked to help someone, but I have a hard time remembering requests if they aren't asked nicely."

Sasuke's face reddened as he clenched his fists, he looked a bit to the side as he muttered, "Ryu-san, can you teach me shinobi stuff?"

Akakiryu clapped his hands and smiled, "Good enough for me. Let's go." Akakiryu put an arm around Sasuke's shoulders and they both disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

The two boys reappeared by the lake in the Uchiha's training grounds. Sasuke looked clearly startled by the sudden change in scenery, but he looked fine overall thanks to Akakiryu's careful handling and his own good genes. Only slightly nauseous, but good considering his first time.

Akakiryu couldn't help but give a slight nod when he saw that Sasuke was okay. When Shisui first Bodyflickered with him, Shisui was a bit rough on purpose since he wanted a bit of a laugh.

Akakiryu got rid of his slight smile of reminiscence and spoke up, "Alright Sasuke, let's set some ground rules for what I'll teach you. Number 1," Akakiryu help up a finger, "No ninjutsu. I won't teach you anything with chakra until you get to the academy. I don't want Fugaku-sama coming after me." Sasuke looked immediately disappointed at that, but he didn't complain about it.

"Number 2," he put up another finger, "If you get yourself hurt, we stop the training. Training with an injury results only in more injuries. It doesn't help anyone. If you try to be stubborn, then you'll only regress with no results to show for it." Sasuke nodded at that. Even he knows that training with injuries is stupid. He had tried to continue with a sprained ankle once and Itachi gave him an earful for it.

"Number 3," he put up a third finger, "No complaints. I'm taking time out of my day to train you when I could be training myself, so I don't want to hear any complaints." Sasuke stayed silent at that.

"Alright, that's enough ground rules. If I think of anything else, then I'll bring it up. First, we'll start with a little demonstration." Akakiryu smiled whilst Sasuke regained his look of eagerness.

Akakiryu walked a few steps away from Sasuke and then his hand blurred. After that, Akakiryu just stood there with his hands in his pockets whilst smiling at Sasuke.

Sasuke couldn't help but to speak up, "Um, Ryu-san, what are you going to show me exactly?"

Akakiryu's grin widened and he raised a hand with two fingers pointed up.

"Eh, Ryu-" Sasuke couldn't finish before he was interrupted by a falling kunai caught right between the two fingers of Akakiryu. Sasuke turned cow-eyed at Akakiryu's display of overwhelming dexterity, or rather a total understanding of his kunai.

"Skill with a kunai," Akakiryu started his speech whilst holding the kunai before Sasuke's eyes. "Is one of the biggest determining factors in a battle between shinobi. Ninjutsu is used typically as sure kill techniques, whilst most fights are fought using taijutsu, bukijutsu, shurikenjutsu, and kenjutsu in order to reserve chakra for any unexpected situations."

He continued, "A shinobi should always have at least five kunai on his personage at any one time. Kunai can be used both at a distance and up close, not to mention the utility of having a blade on hand at all times. More importantly," Akakiryu paused for a moment here, "The Uchiha are famed for our incredible ability with kunai and shuriken."

Sasuke is practically shivering with excitement by this point. Akakiryu notices this and he smiles, "So let's begin."

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists and nodded with all the determination he had.

* * *

AN: I'll try to start uploading a tad more regularly from now on. I'll guarantee at least one chapter per month since there's no way I'll finish this story anytime soon if I don't.

I still need to reorient myself with the story for a bit since I've been gone for so long. Once I do though, chapters should start coming back faster. I wrote most of this chapter a month or so ago, which is why I stopped where I did. But don't worry, I'll be back with a new one soon.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	12. Chapter 12

**AN** : Hehe, remember those promises of chapters? Well uh, I fell through on that. I kept getting caught up with college stuff and a bunch of personal life issues. But I'm still alive and as shameless as ever. So here's a chapter.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents.

* * *

Sasuke and Akakiryu were walking back from the training grounds to Akakiryu's house. Akakiryu decided that he'd fix them up dinner. They had only eaten some rice balls for lunch at the training grounds, so they were hungry. Sasuke's clothes were all dirty from training whilst Akakiryu was totally spotless.

Sasuke kept looking at Akakiryu's feet in puzzlement, so Akakiryu spoke up to question him. "Something wrong, Sasuke?" Akakiryu raised an eyebrow.

Sasuke looked back up at Akakiryu's face, "Ryu-san, why don't your feet make any noise at all? And I mean there's absolutely no noise at all. How are you doing it?"

"Ah." Akakiryu glanced at his feet and his face showed understanding. "Well, most shinobi have quiet steps due to training. It's kind of natural that we try not to make any noise when possible and we make it a habit by doing so all the time. Although, I'm sure you mean something else." Akakiryu gave Sasuke a smirk.

"Yeah, my brother's footsteps are always really quiet too, but I can still hear them if I try hard enough." Sasuke nodded, "But your foot steps don't have any noise. It's as if they're not even touching the ground."

Akakiryu's smirk widened, "That's because my feet don't touch the ground. At least, not completely."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "How is that possible? Are you somehow floating?"

Akakiryu shook his head, "Nope, I'm not floating. It's just that I use a unique chakra manipulation to make my footsteps completely silent. What touches the ground isn't my shoes, but rather my chakra. It has the added benefit of constantly training my chakra control. Although, this is as easy as breathing to me at this point."

Sasuke had a puzzled expression at this point, "How come you're the only one that I've noticed doing this?"

"That's because I'm the only one that knows how." Akakiryu smirked at Sasuke again. "At least, as far as I know." He added. Sasuke still had a puzzled look on his face, as if he couldn't comprehend how someone only a year older than him made such a useful technique. So, Akakiryu supplied the answer, "Most shinobi physically train themselves to quiet their footsteps and it's effective enough for most scenarios. The only time my technique really makes a difference is when the enemy has either incredible hearing or if they have some kind of sound detecting jutsu. Plus, my technique has the downfall of requiring incredible chakra control and it would waste the chakra of most shinobi. I have such a large chakra supply that it makes it a viable technique for me to use all the time."

Sasuke seemed to finally understand why only Akakiryu uses the technique. But it was still pretty baffling that only Akakiryu seemed to have made the technique. He was going to continue his questioning, but they had just arrived in front of Akakiryu's house.

They entered the house and Akakiryu's father was absent as expected. Akakiryu went ahead and just had Sasuke go wash up whilst he prepared dinner. He left a spare change of clothes for Sasuke outside of the bathroom. They were his old clothes from when he was around Sasuke's height.

After Sasuke had finished cleaning up, drying off, and changing clothes, he arrived in the dining room to be met with a delicious smell. Akakiryu was already sitting down on one side of the table with his bowl already filled with food. Sasuke's bowl was also prepared on the other side of the table. Sasuke sat down in his chair and couldn't help but ask, "What food is this?"

"Spaghetti and meatballs." Akakiryu smiled, said his thanks, broke his chopsticks and began eating.

Sasuke looked on at how Akakiryu enjoyed his food and he said his own thanks, broke his chopsticks, and cautiously twirled some noodles covered with the tomato-based spaghetti sauce. It only took one bite for him to fall in love.

After dinner, Sasuke went home with a full stomach and a happy expression. He had promised to return Akakiryu's clothes the next time they met.

* * *

Later that night, Akakiryu found himself lying down in the middle of his backyard with his mind empty and just gazing at the night sky hanging over him. As he mingled in the darkness he couldn't help but realize something, "Ah."

Akakiryu stood himself up, dusted off any remnants of the ground his back might have taken with it, and nodded to himself.

He flashed through some hand seals and finally bit his thumb, throwing his palm at the ground.

A puff of smoke appeared and a silhouette could be seen as it dissipated. The smoke went away and a black owl of normal size appeared. The owl's head turned all around as it took in the sights of his abrupt new location.

The owl then looked up at Akakiryu, whom had just been casually watching the owl with a languid body posture. The owl raised its right wing at Akakiryu and opened its beak, "Yo."

At such a nonchalant greeting, Akakiryu responded in kind, "Yo."

The owl lowered its wing and shuffled its feet for a more comfortable standing posture, "Got a name contractor?"

"Akakiryu Uchiha, and yourself?"

"No name. We of the Night Owl clan don't receive names until given one by our contractor. And no, I don't know the reason why. I'm not big on paying attention to all our customs. Why busy yourself with stuff like that when you could be flying around or catching a mouse, am I right?"

Akakiryu gave a slight grin, "Yeah something like that." He then put on a pondering expression and raised a hand to his chin, "But now we need to think about what to name you, you're my first summon after all." Akakiryu raised his head to the night sky as he thought and when his eyes couldn't find the moon he had a thought, "New Moon." He snapped his fingers, "Your name will be New Moon. Just New for short."

New Moon fluttered his wings in a display of excitement, "Yeah yeah, I like that!" New Moon flew over to a pond in the yard and looked at his reflection. "Hn. Hn. Yes. I am New Moon!"

Akakiryu walked over to him, "So, New, what can you do?"

New Moon managed to put an arrogant expression on his feathered face, and he began to pose as if he was the Great Owl Sage himself, "Anything you need Boss!"

Akakiryu got a mischievous glint in his eyes and he asked back, "Oh? Can you give me the Great Owl Sage's favorite tail feather?"

New Moon's black face feathers somehow seemed a little greener and he suddenly squawked, "Thanks for the name boss, call me whenever you need me!" And he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Akakiryu shook his head with a smile and decided it was time for bed.

* * *

In the midst of his morning training, Akakiryu sensed some movement in the air. A messenger falcon dropped down towards him and perched upon his raised arm. He grabbed the message and sent it off after petting it a bit. The scroll's message requested his presence in the Hokage's office.

Akakiryu dispersed all his clones and did a quick full body clean with his chakra, a trick he picked up for times like this. All it did was shake off any grime and sweat he might have built up.

A quick body flickered and a walk later and he was standing before the office doors. He knocked and entered after hearing he could.

The Hokage gazed up from his stacks of paperwork to look at Akakiryu. Akakiryu spoke up, "What do you request of me, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen smiled, "I'd like to have a chat and then I have a mission for you." Akakiryu raised an eyebrow and motioned him to continue. "Well I might as well start off with the boy that was with me at Ichiraku's the other day. I believe you should have an idea of his identity from his name and his looks, and I must ask that you keep it a secret." Akakiryu just nodded silently.

"Now, some other things." Hiruzen perched his elbows on the table and clasped his hands under his chin. "Your sensei has been sent out on a mission by me, so he won't be able to spare any time for you for a couple days. However," Hiruzen leaned in slightly, "Hayate had informed me that he has taught you the shadow clone jutsu, correct?"

Akakiryu nodded his head. "Well then, I believe it's time that you start taking some D-rank missions then." Hiruzen smiled at the discomforted expression on Akakiryu's face. "Since you have shadow clones, it's the perfect opportunity for you to practice some teamwork even if it is with… yourself."

Akakiryu sighed, "Alright, but what mission will you give me? Please don't let it be cleaning the Inuzuka dog pens." He pleaded with a rather desperate expression.

Hiruzen gave a chuckle, "No, I have a different mission in mind for you." He tossed Akakiryu a scroll. Akakiryu gave a quick read over it, something that took no time at all with his Sharingan, and he understood what his mission was.

Akakiryu bowed to the Hokage and flickered away to do his mission with a weird expression on his face.

* * *

Akakiryu appeared right outside of a open doored shop with various potted plants lined alongside the front of the store. He gave it a quick look over and checked the sign to make sure he was at the right place.

'Yamanaka Flowers'

Akakiryu walked in and went up to the counter to greet the man behind it. The man behind the counter was dressed casually with purple clothes and a light green apron, his long blonde hair was done up in a high ponytail.

Akakiryu bowed to the man and greeted him, "Inoichi-sama."

Inoichi looked down at the red-headed, bowing boy and asked, "What is it young man? I don't believe you are here to buy flowers, now are you?" Inoichi had noticed the Sharingan active in the boy's eyes and he just couldn't see such a young prodigious Uchiha being interested in gardening.

Akakiryu nodded, "I'm here to complete the painting request."

Inoichi had a look of realization and smiled, "Ah, of course. I've been expecting some genin to come, but where is the rest of your team? Is it just you?"

"No sir, it's just me."

Inoichi didn't bother to pry for more details. The Hokage must have his reasons for sending a single genin for the job, and it's not as if painting the store would be hard for a single person to do; it would just take longer. "Very well." He turned and called to the back of the store, "Ino!"

An adorable little, short blonde-haired girl came out of the back of the flower shop to answer his call. "Yes, daddy? What is it?"

Inoichi had a gentle look as he smiled at his most beloved daughter, "You wanted to pick the colors for the shop's new paint job, right? Well, right here is the boy that will be painting the store for us." He pointed at Akakiryu and then suddenly looked a bit embarrassed, "Now that I think about it, I don't believe I asked for your name, young man?"

Akakiryu stopped looking over the new arrival and smiled to Inoichi, "My name is Akakiryu Uchiha, Inoichi-sama."

"Right then, Akakiryu." He gestured to Ino, "This is my beloved daughter, Ino. She will bring you to grab the paint supplies she picked out earlier and then she will tell you how she wants the store painted."

Akakiyru walked over to the little blonde and smiled and winked to her, "Please guide me well, Ino-chan."

Ino seemed a little flustered by the tall, cute, red-haired boy, and so she gave a quick nod and started walking to the back of the store where the paint supplies were.

As they walked, Akakiryu remained casual, and Ino kept glancing at him but she seemed to regain her bearings a little. They found the supplies and brought them out to the front of the store, Akakiryu nodded Inoichi as they passed him.

They stood outside the store and Akakiryu took note of the current paintjob. The store was currently painted mainly with a light green with a secondary of teal, but it was clear that the paint was older as it could be seen that it was flaking a little.

Akakiryu turned to Ino, "So Ino-chan, how would you like the store painted."

Ino became a little excited as her attention was turned to the new colors that she picked for the store. She crouched down and fiddled with the paint buckets prepared for the store. She pointed to the two colors, "We're going to use the light yellow for the walls and then the red for the window and door frames!" She smiled up at Akakiryu.

Akakiryu gave a thumbs up and a grin, "Great choice, but what do you mean by we?" He tilted his head a little and raised an eyebrow.

Ino blushed a little, "I wanted to help paint too!"

Akakiryu shrugged his shoulders, "Fine by me then, there's 3 brushes prepared and only two of us so that works fine. But first," He made a hand seal and a shadow clone appeared beside him in a puff of smoke.

Ino was amazed to see two Akakiryus suddenly standing before her. "There. Now there's three of us!" The two Akakiryus high fived eachother and both turned to grin at Ino.

Soon enough, Ino and Akakiryu plus his clone, were hard at work painting the store. Every now and then a customer would pass them in and out of the store giving them some praise as the two young kids worked to paint the store.

Akakiyru and his clone found themselves in charge of painting all taller parts of the store out of reach of Ino. They would simply wall walk up and paint wherever they needed to, of course whilst avoiding stepping on the fresh paint. Ino found herself enjoying the painting and the company. Every now and then she would find herself absentmindedly staring up at either Akakiryu or his clone doing their own job, only to be reminded by Akakiryu that she had been painting the same exact spot. She'd be flustered back into working hard, only for the cycle to repeat.

The sun soon found itself slowly falling towards the horizon as the three of them decided to end the work for today. There's no use in rushing a paint job unless you want it done shabbily. They brought the paint supplies back into the store and Akakiryu said his goodbyes for the day.

The days past and after three days of hard work, Akakiryu and Ino found themselves standing before a freshly painted Yamanaka Flowers.

Akakiryu smiled to his painting companion, "Well, we're done and I'd say it looks great, Ino-chan." Ino nodded her head in triumph as she kept looking proudly upon the storefront. "And now that I look at it," Akakiryu turned and looked over the store, "It seems as though the store is painted after our hair."

Ino realized the same after he mentioned it and she couldn't help but feel a little warm at the thought of it. 'It's painted like Ryu and me, hm?' She couldn't help but smile a little silly when she looked at the blonde and red paintjob.

"Alright, Ino. Let's go show your Dad that we're done." Akakiryu headed inside with Ino following after a little hesitation.

Inoichi looked over the completed paintjob and felt happy with how it looked. "You chose the colors well, Ino! And you both did such a great job of painting it!" Inoichi then handed an envelope to Akakiryu. "And here's your payment, Akakiryu. I'll tell the Hokage myself how well you did when I see him."

Akakiryu smiled and thanked him, "Thank you, Inoichi-sama." He then turned to Ino, "And thank you, Ino-chan. I had a lot of fun painting with you these past few days."

Ino blushed but seemed a little sad that it was over. "Will I see you around, Ryu?"

Akakiryu smiled to the cute little girl, "Sure, I've been thinking that gardening could be a good hobby anyways."

Ino was ecstatic at that. She tugged at her father's sleeve, "Dad I'm going to start helping around the store more!"

Inoichi laughed at that and felt happy to hear his daughter wants to help him more. Even the fact that it was for a boy didn't bother him since the two kids were so young. Once they're older though… Inoichi stopped that train of thought.

They all said their own goodbyes and went their ways.

* * *

 **AN** : And that's the chappy. Pretty normally sized chapter, almost 3000 words, nothing special. Little Ino has appeared but she's so little that the adult minded Akakiryu thinks nothing of the little girl.

We'll see where the future takes us. Btw, I took off the Humor tag since, while there are humor elements, this story doesn't exactly have a humor focus and I felt like it was misleading.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	13. Chapter 13

**AN** : After releasing last chapter, the positive responses really got me motivated. Seeing that my old readers were still here warmed my heart. I hope you enjoy this one as well.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents.

* * *

A week went by and Akakiryu continued to do D-rank missions. Halfway through the week, Hayate had returned but made Akakiryu continue doing D-rank missions anyways. Akakiryu also found himself picking up gardening as he had promised Ino, and his backyard couldn't help but look lovely. Doing his morning training had never seemed so pleasant before.

Today, Akakiryu and Hayate would be going on a C-rank escort mission. A Konoha merchant by the name of Joji had requested a shinobi escort whilst traveling to Kusagakure to sell goods. Joji was a middle aged man who looked tan and healthy, he looked more like a farmer than a merchant but the sly look in his eyes would tell a different story. The escort was standard and requested for protection against bandits. A nice and easy mission.

Akakiyru woke up early like usual and headed to the gates to meet up with Hayate and Joji. After he was geared up, he bodyflickered to the gates. It only took a glance for him to find Joji whom was making some last minute adjustments to the goods on his cart. The horse was already strapped up.

Akakiryu had flickered right behind the man without a sound, "Good morning Joji-san." Joji found himself knocking some goods over after having the shit scared out of him from the voice appearing so close without warning.

Joji couldn't help but scratch at his head with frustration whilst staring at what had been knocked over. He turned to the little trouble-making shinobi. "Hey kid, can you not use your damn ninja skills to appear out of nowhere? You made me knock my goods over. If they were fragile and broke, I'd make you pay for it."

"Sorry about that Joji-san." Akakiryu looked around and took in the blue skies, the bright sun, and warm weather. "On the bright side, the weather is great today, don't you think, Joji-san?"

Joji glared at Akakiryu, "Changing the subject eh?" He took a look around himself, "But yeah, you're right kid. Anyways," He turned back to the genin, "How many C rank missions have you been on? Can I trust you to protect me and my stuff from bandits?"

"Only one." Joji's face fell, "But, it was bandit extermination and I did it myself." Akakiryu smiled warmly, but Joji couldn't help but feel a little cold.

"You're a scary kid, you know that?" Joji chuckled, "But you're a scary kid that I hired so it's okay I guess."

Hayate took this moment to appear. "Are we good to go?" A sudden new arrival made Joji jump for the second time this morning.

"You got that from your sensei, huh kid?" Akakiryu winked at him and Joji just sighed. "Yeah, just let me finish putting everything in order. It's easier for my goods to be expected if they're arranged in a way that the guards can look them over quickly."

Joji was done in 5 minutes and so they set off.

* * *

Going from Konohagakure to Kusagakure meant crossing half of fire country and going by cart meant about 6-7 days of travel.

They were on their third day of travel with Akakiryu and Hayate walking on either side of Joji's cart. Most attacks would come from the treeline so they made their formation with that in mind. They had just had lunch on the road and had been moving for about 10 minutes when some chakra signatures appeared on the edge of Akakiryu's sensing radius 2 km out in front of them. They were at level of 5 strong civilians. They might be bandits but Akakiryu felt confident handling any number of bandits. He told what he found to Hayate.

"Hmm. Alright, I guess I'll check it out to make sure they're no big deal. You just stay with Joji until I get back. If you sense any big chakra fluctuations, make sure you stay with Joji. Anything I can't handle isn't something you can, so if I'm not back in 30 minutes then just send word to Konoha for backup. I doubt any of that is necessary but you never know." Akakiryu nodded.

Hayate body flickered in the direction that Akakiryu mentioned, and Joji stopped the cart and made small talk once he left. "So you can sense people, huh kid?"

Akakiryu nodded whilst focusing on Hayate's chakra signature moving towards the other five. "Yeah, I've been able to since I was born. I can sense about two kilometers in any direction, but I can't sense for more than 10 meters underground."

"Pretty impressive, I'm glad I –" Joji stopped at this moment as he saw Akakiryu's face twist into an ugly expression. "What's wrong kid?"

"The five chakra signatures I sensed started moving towards Hayate-sensei once he was about 200 meters away from them. But that shouldn't be possible unless they were shinobi and had a chakra sensor. I doubt that Hayate-sensei wouldn't notice any alarms or sensory seals."

Joji felt a little panicked, but stayed quiet. The horse didn't have a care in the world.

Akakiryu kept focusing on the chakra signatures and he couldn't help but frown further once he felt the five signatures start to surround Hayate. He summoned a shadow clone and then flew through some hand seals, bit his thumb, and slammed his palm on the ground.

New Moon flew out of the smoke that appeared and landed on the real Akakiryu's shoulder. "New I need you to do something for me." Akakiryu had pulled out a small scroll immediately after summoning New Moon and he just finished writing his message. "Stay with my shadow clone. If it disappears then I need you to fly this message back to Konoha. Just take the message to the big red tower with the word Fire on it. If any leaf shinobi stops you then just give the message to them."

New took the scroll in his beak and flew onto the shoulder of clone Akakiryu, "Youhf goh ih bosh!" (You've got it, Boss!)

Joji piped up at this moment, "What about me?"

"You should turn your cart back around and follow the road for about 2 miles. My shadow clone will protect you as I'm gone. You should be plenty safe that far away, but if my shadow clone disappears then head to the nearest town." Joji's tan face was looking pale but he still nodded his head.

Akakiryu took a deep breath and bodyflickered to see the situation for himself.

* * *

Akakiryu stopped on a tree branch about 250 meters away from them. He knew they had a chakra sensor and from the lack of noise he knew that they likely managed to get the drop on Hayate. The five civilian signatures had turned into high-chunin levels of chakra with one of them even having mid-jonin level chakra. The chakra levels don't signify skill, but if they could get the drop on a master of the Chameleon jutsu like Hayate, then they were quite skilled indeed.

The mid-jonin chakra level signature kept fluctuating, likely meaning that he was sustaining a jutsu, whilst Hayate's chakra signature was steadily getting weaker. Akakiryu was running out of time.

Akakiryu took a deep breath and the tomoe spun in his eyes, as if they were expressing his internal determination. He used some hand seals and his figure seemed to fade out of sight. Along with his visual image, his chakra levels seemed to fall and disappear away as well.

Low-kage

Mid-Jonin

Low-Chunin

Civilian

Gone.

When Akakiryu had been learning the Chameleon jutsu, while learning from Hayate how to hide chakra levels, Akakiryu learned that he could suppress his chakra entirely, thereby hiding it from being sensed.

With his preparations done, he slowly moved closer.

* * *

In the middle of the forest, a small clearing of upturned dirt seems to have been made with the trees that were previously there haphazardly laying outside of it. In the midst of this clearing five men surrounded a dome of earth. One man, the biggest of the five, had his hands covered in earth pressed up against the dome. A blue haze surrounded his hands.

Each of the five men were attired in the shinobi wear of Iwagakure.

One of the chunin, whom was identical to another one of the five with the only differing feature being a big mole on his chin, spoke while scratching his mole, "What is a single leaf shinobi doing out here? Was our mission tipped off?"

Another chunin with a scar running across his cheek spoke up with a chuckle, "Does it matter? A lone tree hugger running into us is as good as dead anyways."

The man managing the dome of earth turned his head. He was the only jonin of the five and his demeanor was as solemn as the rocks of his village. He spoke calmly, "Quiet." He turned to the only skinny fellow of the group. "Sadakuno, do you sense anyone else near here?"

Sadakuno closed his eyes in focus for a few seconds before he spoke up, "Definitely not, some small animals, sure, but nothing bigger."

The jonin nodded and turned his focus back to the dome.

The twin of the chunin with the mole sat down bored and started roving his eyes across the tree line. He couldn't help but catch a glimpse of crimson in a bush. He was instantly alerted but just as quickly he found himself losing focus. Soon he had nodded off into a light sleep while sitting crosslegged. No one seemed to notice anything.

* * *

'One down. That was risky as hell.' Akakiryu couldn't help but feel a bead of sweat down his forehead. He had been observing the situation hidden away in a bush when he saw one of the Iwa chunin lower his guard and start looking in his direction. He had disabled his Chameleon jutsu just long enough to take advantage of the opportunity to put the chunin under a genjutsu with his Sharingan. He even managed to pull it off without tipping off Sadakuno.

The risk was huge but the payoff was just as big. Now, there was 3 more chunin and one occupied jonin. He had a chance to pull this off. The Jonin had his focus stuck on whatever earth jutsu was trapping Hayate, and the sensor, Sadakuno, seemed to be focused on sensing for any possible new arrivals. The mole chunin and the scar chunin weren't on guard as they seemed to trust Sadakuno's sensory ability. The ability to completely suppress chakra like Akakiryu could was very rare, so their trust wasn't totally misplaced.

Akakiryu had a few options. He could take out Sadakuno and hope that none of the other shinobi had a method of detecting him, that way he could turn the fight into a guerilla warfare. That was super risky though. The other shinobi formed something of a formation around Sadakuno, so attacking him meant getting in the middle of the other shinobi. Not to mention the fact that it was unlikely that the other shinobi had absolutely no way of detecting him.

Akakiryu knew what he had to do. He had to kill the Jonin. If Hayate could get out, the chance of winning would increase drastically. Luckily the shinobi that was in between him and the jonin was the chunin he put under a genjutsu. He could do this.

Akakiryu felt his blood pumping and he pulled out his tanto.

He made his move.

Akakiryu burst out of the bushes with a bodyflicker, his path clear in his crimson eyes.

He past the sleeping chunin in a fraction of a second and was merely feet away from the Jonin.

His Chameleon jutsu was still on but his chakra was no longer suppressed in preparation for the fight. Sadakuno was alerted and the other two Chunin had felt something was off. He only had one chance.

Less than a meter away from the Jonin his Chameleon jutsu came off and he lunged at the Jonin. His Sharingan could see the man's stone-like demeanor crack in the face of this sudden attack. Lightning flared across his tanto as he flooded chakra into it. Akakiryu plunged his blade into the back of the Jonin, aiming for the heart, but the Jonin reacted fast enough to make the blade miss two inches to the left. The Jonin knew he was able to dodge it but his world went dark when lightening chakra flooded his body and stopped his heart and shorted his brain out.

The Jonin's body fell away from the earth dome but Akakiryu knew he wasn't safe yet, nor was his job done. Sadakuno was less than 3 meters away and on the move with the other two close behind him. Akakiryu flickered towards the sleeping Chunin. The three could see him disappear and only the twin with the mole made a move. In a cry of anger he flew through hand seals faster than he ever had before and slammed his palms on the ground, moving the earth next to his twin to form up in a protective dome.

Akakiryu didn't falter at all and he plunged his blade right through the earth. Lightening chakra was strong against earth and his blade went right in. He felt his blade meet flesh. He didn't have the chance to do anything further as the scarred Chunin was already next to him swinging his sword down. Akakiryu had to abandon his tanto as he flickered to safety a few meters away.

He turned back to the three survivors with two kunai drawn and his Sharingan capturing their every move. The scarred Chunin had long lost his casual demeanor and was glaring at the crimson-haired kid with wariness. Sadakuno kept his focus on Akakiryu whilst also trying to sense for any other shinobi. The twin, however, was cradling the body of his brother after pulling him from the earth that failed to defend him.

The dome of earth in the middle of the clearing had begun falling apart and it didn't take long for a figure to burst out of it. Hayate stood there sword drawn and his heavy lidded eyes filled with focus as he tried to understand the situation.

Without a word Akakiryu and Hayate moved towards eachother whilst keeping their focus on the three Chunin.

No one made a sound except for the man with the mole weeping for his brother. Sadakuno was keeping his focus on the escaped Konoha Jonin, and the scarred man kept his eyes on the genin. This was a mistake he would pay dearly for.

Akakiryu matched the gaze of the scarred man and he knew his mistake when he saw Akakiryu's eyes and felt his body freeze. Akakiryu dropped his left hand's kunai and brought his left hand back up and formed it into a tiger seal.

 **Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!**

A huge ball of flames burst from his mouth and flew towards the enemy. Sadakuno dodged out of the way only to have to immediately block Hayate's sword. The twin carried his brother's body out of the way, but found himself separated from the battle when he dodged away. And the poor scarred man was stuck paralyzed as the flames washed over him. He only had a second of life before his body turned to ash.

Sadakuno and Hayate were soon locked in a melee that Sadakuno understood he was losing but helpless to do anything different. Sadakuno was gaining small wounds with every second and at this point he was just trying to find an opening to escape.

Akakiryu turned to the surviving twin. The twin had set his brother's body away from the battle and was already going through hand seals with a face full of rage.

 **Earth Release: Earth Pillar Spears!**

Akakiryu jumped away as spears of hardened earth erupted from the ground he previously stood on. As he jumped away, he countered by flinging a couple kunai towards the Chunin.

The man blocked each that came at him but in the shadow of the last one came a hidden kunai with an explosive tag wrapped around it. The lack of time to react had led the twin to knock the kunai to the ground, leading the explosion to erupt in front of him as he attempted to jump away. On instinct he shielded his face by putting his arms up. He came out of the resultant cloud of smoke with only minor injuries but didn't have a chance to react to the blade that pierced him from behind. As he felt the life quickly ebb from him, he turned to the dead body of his twin and knew that he will see him soon.

Akakiryu removed the blade from his foe's body and saw that Hayate had finished his battle as well. Sadakuno lied not far from him, covered in sword wounds, with one deep slash across his front that was likely the final blow.

Hayate looked around the battlefield and couldn't help but feel a headache. This was by no means what he expected of this mission, but he knew that anything could happen in their profession. He walked over to his crimson-haired student and set his hand on his head. Akakiryu looked up to his sensei whom spoke, "Come on, let's get back to Joji."

* * *

AN: What would a Naruto story be if an easy mission didn't go off the rails? We were able to see a little bit more of Akakiryu's combat ability in this chapter. Let me know what you think. Choreographing combat scenes is tricky since you have to consider the thought processes of everyone involved, but I hope I did a decent job.

I think I'll try to write more this weekend too. I've been blessed with a burst of motivation for this story so I'm going to ride it while I have it.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	14. Chapter 14

AN: Well I did write a bit like I had said in the last chapter, but I didn't get around to finishing it until now. The month of May was hectic for me, trying to finish up the semester of college. But now I'm chillin at home and I have some time, so I should be able to put out more chapters over the summer. We also broke past 500 followers, which is pretty crazy for how small my story is. I'm really happy that so many of you carry an interest in my writing, and I won't stop writing as long as even one of you gives a shit. Cheers!

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents.

* * *

Joji and New Moon saw Akakiyru and Hayate appear in a swirl of black feathers and green leaves respectively. Akakiryu had recovered his tanto before leaving the battlefield, and he looked to be largely untouched. Other than some dirt and dust, he looked totally fine. Hayate looked fine as well, thanks to his only trouble being trapped in the dome of earth and having his chakra slowly drained. Hayate was a bit low on chakra, but Akakiryu had plenty left in him. A shockingly successful result considering the odds. It was almost lucky that Hayate was trapped by them, since it allowed for Akakiryu to sneak attack them.

New Moon fluttered over to his boss and dropped the scroll back into his hand, "I don't need this anymore, do I boss?"

"Nope," Akakiryu smiled, "I'm glad I didn't need your help."

New Moon fluttered his wings proudly, "Of course, that would mean that I had a weak contractor. You should be able to handle such trifling matters." Whilst New preached to him, Akakiryu dissipated his shadow clone. His face couldn't help but show an amused expression when the memories of New bickering with Joji with a full beak came back.

"Is this your summon, Ryu?" Hayate spoke up.

"Yes, Hayate-sensei."

"Alright. Have him deliver this message to Konoha. They need to send someone to clean up the site and recover the bodies here. We'll continue our original mission of escorting Joji."

"Understood, Hayate-sensei."

While Hayate was writing the message, and Akakiryu and New Moon waited for him, Joji was busy thinking, 'This little kid was able to save a Tokubetsu-Jonin from a situation he couldn't handle? What a beast. The Uchiha are really a totally different breed.' Joji was from Konoha and he roughly understood the huge gap between a Genin and a Jonin. The idea that a little kid was strong enough to breech that gap was mindblowing for the merchant. He also understood something else… 'Genin are way cheaper! Even if he becomes a chunin, my safety would come at a way cheaper price!' Not even seconds after that thought, Joji had already waltz up to Akakiryu and started patting his back, "You're quite the strong shinobi, eh, Akakiryu?! I could have died without you!"

Akakiryu knew the merchant's angle but he smiled and thanked him nonetheless, "Just doing my job, Joji-san."

"No no no! That just won't do! You can expect a good word from me, boy! I'll ask for you anytime I need a shinobi's help! I can count on you, right?" Joji leaned his face toward's Akakiryu with a sly grin.

"If I'm free, then I should be able to offer my services to you, Joji-san." Akakiryu didn't mind this deal. It was good for him, and it can be considered as the first step in the necessary increase of his reputation.

Joji and Akakiryu continued talking with Hayate watching on with a smile. New Moon flew off with Hayate's message, and the trio of Joji, Akakiryu, and Hayate continued on their journey to Kusagakure.

* * *

After another 4 days, Akakiryu and Hayate successfully returned to the gates of Konoha. It took 3 days to finish escorting Joji to Kusagakure, and less than a day to return back to Konoha. A shinobi's speed is far faster than a cart, after-all.

They had no time to rest, nor to report the success of their mission, before they were intercepted by the Hokage's ANBU that seemed to have been waiting for them at the gate. They were then taken to the Hokage's office.

As they walked into the office, the Hokage met them with a frown on his face, "Report the events leading up to your fight with the five Iwa shinobi."

Hayate reported everything with Akakiryu supplementing things on his end. Hiruzen periodically asked questions, and eventually the whole event, including their fight, was reported.

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes with a sigh. He reopened his eyes, "The five shinobi you killed were a team with a bit of rising fame in Iwa. Their Jonin team-leader and their sensor both had bounties in our bingo book with a B-rank and C-rank respectively. After investigating their bodies, no mission scroll was found and with them dead, we can't investigate what their purpose in the land of fire might have been. Your encounter with them was one of chance, and I can't say if it was good or bad that they ended up killed. Regardless, we're putting a close on this incident until new information comes up. Hayate will receive the reward for the sensor's bounty and Akakiryu will receive the reward for killing the team-leader. You will still have to fill out a written report for your mission, but for now you're free to do as you please. This mission will go down as B rank in your mission-records. You're dismissed, if there are no further questions."

With nothing to say, Hayate and Akakiryu bowed and left.

Outside of the Hokage's tower, Hayate spoke up to Akakiryu, "Rest up for today, but I want you to meet me tomorrow at the training grounds at noon." With that, Hayate walked off.

* * *

The next day, Akakiryu and Hayate met up as promised. Akakiryu greeted Hayate but was only met with a sigh full of unknown emotion. Akakiryu was confused by the sigh, but his confusion was soon cleared up by Hayate's following words.

"Honestly, you're a bit of a monster, Akakiryu. And so, I have found it fit to sign you up for the Chunin exams. Three days from now, you will need to head to room 301 in the Academy to sign up by 15:00." Hayate handed him the permission form. "You will need to bring that with you. I had asked the Hokage for special permission for you to take the exams alone, and you will quickly learn that being alone in a team-based exam will have its pros and cons. Of course, all of this depends on whether or not you want to take the exams. I don't feel like I really need to ask, but are you ready for this?"

Akakiryu didn't hesitate to nod, his face locked in its ever-present smile with the turning tomoes in his Sharingan being the only indicator of his excitement.

* * *

With each day being spent training, it didn't take long for the three days to pass for Akakiryu. After lunch, he relaxed for the next few hours and then decided to head over to the exam site at 14:15. Have to be early for important events, after all.

Akakiryu just Body-flickered to the Academy and had no issue in finding his way to Room 301. There were a variety of Genin from different villages already in the midst of submitting their permission forms and signing up outside of the room. After each applicant finished signing up, they were given a number and ushered into the room.

Akakiryu got in line just like everyone else, and it was clear how different he was from the average applicant. He quickly stood out for his crimson hair, proudly displayed Sharingan, good looks, and most concerningly, his young age. It took no time at all for the lined up Genin to notice him and share mutters between their teammates. Akakiryu, on the other hand, was not bothered at all. The proctors also couldn't care less, and as such the line shrunk, three people at a time, until it was Akakiryu's turn.

"Akakiryu Uchiha, I presume?" The chunin proctor questioned whilst motioning for his form.

Akakiryu nodded and handed over his form with no surprise. It was to be expected that his special situation would be aforementioned to the proctors. Especially the ones handling sign-up.

There were no problems with him signing up and Akakiryu headed into the room with his number, 37. There was a certain suspense in the air as he opened up the doors. Eyes immediately darted over to examine the new arrival and they were soon filled with emotions. Some carried disdain, others mere curiosity, but all of them held the same question, "Who is this kid?"

And of the diverse cast of Genin gathered, there happened to be a young man brazen enough to ask directly.

"Brat, who are you? Scratch that, do you even know where you are?" A Leaf genin that looked about 14 or 15, average in every way, directed his spite to Akakiryu, "If that headband is legit, then you should know that this isn't a place to screw around."

Akakiryu had not had his smile leave him for an instant, 'Rather than deal with this cliché nobody, I'd like to sit down and wait for the exam.' As such, Akakiryu ignored the Genin, and made himself comfortable in the seat matching his number.

The crowd of Genin were waiting for the Leaf Genin's reaction. They all knew his type; there was no chance he would let such a slight go bye.

But nothing happened.

The Leaf Genin stood just where he was, not reacting at all. His teammate reached out to him, "Hey Tashiro, what's wrong with you?" But when he tried to jostle Tashiro, he collapsed like a falling statue.

His teammate quickly caught him and released him from what he understood to be a genjutsu, "Kai!" When Tashiro awoke, he said nothing and only stared at Akakiryu in horror.

Now, every single Genin in the room was alert of the young newcomer. But no one made a new move and eventually everyone settled back down to wait for the start of the exam.

* * *

'It seems like this won't be much fun. I don't see a single shinobi that I recognize.' Akakiryu had glanced over the room earlier and couldn't find much interest in the Genin gathered. Plus, everyone's chakra levels that he could sense were being kept under wraps for the most part. Only the impatient and the naïve had their chakras bleeding into the air without care.

'The only ones I really find of any interest is whatever team that bandaged up Sand Genin belongs to. That mummy reeks of poison.' Regardless of his thoughts, Akakiryu's face and body remained relaxed, never losing his smile and carefree demeanor.

The door continued a dance of opening and closing as more and more applicants finished up their registration. Akakiryu would glance over each new arriving team, and finally one team caught his interest. Composed of a Hyuga boy, a pony-tailed teen with a scar straight across the bridge of his nose, and a Genin with snow white hair that despite a charming smile, held an evil look in his eyes.

Akakiryu smiled, 'Iruka Umino and Mizuki, not the strongest, but certainly familiar faces. And the Hyuga is a pleasant surprise. Neji couldn't exactly give me the gentle-fist experience when we had fought.' With a slightly bigger grin, Akakiryu continued his efforts of trying to find some interesting opponents.

Soon the all of the examinees had arrived with no one else catching Akakiryu's eye. The moment the time had reached 15:00, smoke appeared at the front of the room and as it dissipated, a collection of Chunin proctors dressed in official gray uniforms could be seen lined up. At the center of the Chunin stood one notable figure. He was dressed in the typical Leaf Jonin attire, minus the vest and plus a bandana and rounded sunglasses.

"My name is Ebisu and I will be your proctor for the first stage of the Chunin Exams." Ebisu displayed a proud smile and looked over the examinees before him. "Pay attention to my words for I will not repeat myself."

"The first stage will be a written exam composed of 10 Questions and you will be given an hour to complete it. However, whilst you are taking this exam, my assistant proctors here-" Ebisu gestured to the Chunin lined up beside him as they took up some mean looks and grins, "-will be harassing you for the entirety of the exam." At this, the Genin gathered burst into murmurs. This would certainly be an unorthodox testing environment and they were uneasy as to what extent they might be distracted by the Chunin.

"Occasionally, blunted kunai covered in red paint will be thrown at you all. If any examinee is hit more than a single time, then they AND their teammates will be disqualified from moving any further in the exam. Deflecting these kunai towards another examinee is allowed. However, catching the kunai and directly attacking other applicants will NOT be permitted. This will result in immediate disqualification of the examinee and the examinee's team."

Now there was real worry in the air. Taking a test and dodging kunai was hard enough, let alone when your teammates could get you screwed over at any time. Akakiryu, on the other hand, was feeling supremely confident. He wasn't bound by the worry of any teammates holding him back.

"One hour will be given to complete the exam. Each question is worth a single point for a possible total of 10 points per examinee. Each examinee's score will count towards their team's total and it is this total that determines whether or not your team can move on to the next exam. Each team needs a total of at least 21 points to pass the exam."

The point minimum was troublesome and no one could really guarantee that they would be able to get every question right whilst under the pressure of the Chunins' harassment. At the very least, each person needed 7 correct answers to keep their team on the safe side.

Akakiryu was left wondering what this meant for him, but he was soon answered directly. After his speech, Ebisu had turned directly to the redhead. "Akakiryu Uchiha, you are the only Genin taking this exam alone, and as such you will be given an exam containing 30 questions instead of 10. You still only get an hour and you are still expected to get at least 21 points to pass. You might not have to worry about your teammates, but you will have to worry extra about yourself." This news was curious to the other Genin. The fact that someone was taking the exam alone was news to them, but also the fact that the proctor would be so ruthless as to make it three times harder for the kid was interesting.

Iruka couldn't help but exclaim to himself, 'That kid is so young and he's taking the Chunin exams alone?'

Mizuki had other thoughts, 'I was actually jealous at first, hearing that he didn't have to deal with the deadweight of useless teammates. But I suppose it serves him right to instead have to take a harder test.'

Ebisu again addressed the room, "Once everyone has received an exam, we will begin at my word."

Paper copies of the exam were passed out and soon, the fated word was heard, "Begin!"

Everyone quickly flipped over the exam sheet, and eager to get started, many had let their guard down. Red Kunai were also quickly thrown by the assistant proctors and in their haste, a majority of the targeted Genin had already found themselves bruised and marked by red paint. Along with the Kunai being thrown, the assistant proctors had begun other ways to distract the examinees.

"Pathetic! And you worms want to be Chunin!? You with the glasses! Can you even see the damn paper? It doesn't seem to me like you're reading much of anything!"

One of the assistant proctors had jumped on one of the desks and was shouting at each person seated there. "You guys have been at this test for a couple minutes already and you haven't written a thing! And you think you have any chance of passing?! If you're that worthless, you might as well start writing your apologies to your teammates instead!"

Dividing one's attention between the flying kunai and the exam proved to be incredibly difficult for the Genin and trying to maintain any amount of focus to either of those tasks was made even harder by the shouting and movement of the Chunin proctors. It had already been 5 minutes, but like one of the Chunin had so blatantly shouted, most of them hadn't answered a single question.

Akakiryu, however, had barely let his pencil stop moving at all. Already he had answered 6 questions. A fifth of his extra long exam. The only time his pencil stopped was when had busied himself with reading the next question and when he used it to redirect an incoming kunai to the Rain Genin seated in front of him. 'These questions are all fairly doable for a Genin, but they're hard enough that most would need to concentrate on them. It will be interesting to see the turnout.'

The Hyuga boy, whom looked around 13 or 14 with short dark brown hair, wearing a black shirt with a mesh shirt underneath and black pants, had long activated his Byakugan and was having little trouble in completing his exam.

The tightly bandaged Sand Genin had managed to keep his bandages free of the dreaded red paint splattered across many examinees, and he seemed hardly perturbed by the noise and movement around him.

Iruka and Mizuki were both doing well enough, but Mizuki was noticeably ticked off by the comments of the Chunin.

Time went by, and more and more Genin were being sent out of the testing room.

"Examinees Number 44, 45, and 46, FAIL!"

"Examinees Number 62, 63, and 64, FAIL!"

"Examinees Number 13, 14, and 15, FAIL!"

Soon the fated time came, "Stop! The first stage of the exam is now over. An assistant proctor will gather your exams for grading." Ebisu had sent his words over a silent room, the Chunin having stopped their harassment seconds before the hour was up.

Akakiryu took a look around the room, already over half of the people here have been disqualified and from the panicked looks of many, more should be gone soon.

"By now you should all understand the purpose of this little test that I've devised," Up front, Ebisu pushed his glasses up, "You all were required to go over difficult problems and come up with the correct answers under heavy pressure. This is because Chunin are regularly required to make decisions that will decide the fate of their squad members regardless of the situation around them. The battlefield will not pause so that you might come up with a plan. You will have to make split second choices under immense pressure that determines whether you and your squad will live or die. Anyone who couldn't even handle this mere test does NOT deserve the rank of Chunin."

Ebisu paused and looked over the motley room, most of them having some measure of red paint on them. "The results of this stage of the exam will be posted outside of this room tomorrow at 12:00. Those who have passed will be expected here tomorrow at 15:00 to wait for the second stage of the exam. You are all dismissed." With that, he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Akakiryu didn't bother to wait around either, and he headed home as well.

* * *

 **AN** : Ayy, so we're into the Chunin exams. One of the main reasons why Hayate was having Akakiryu do those D rank missions was so that Akakiryu could qualify for the exams (You need at least 8 completed missions to take the exams). He's taking it at a weird time in the storyline and it was REALLY hard trying to figure out what familiar characters would be trying to be Chunin at this point. That was the main reason why it took me a while to get this out. I wanted to have at least a couple characters from canon that you guys might give a shit about. Plus, I hate introducing unnecessary OCs, since I'm trying to keep close to the canon Naruto world (Not the story-line though, that will inevitably be changed quite a bit).

Let me know how I did so far with the exams, and feel free to give any ideas you might have for the rest of the exam. I've got it mostly figured out, but I'm always open to suggestions.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	15. Chapter 15

**AN** : I bet you guys didn't expect me to upload this quick, huh? Well, ya boi did. And this is a real chapter, don't be discouraged by the block of text in the author's note.

Usually, I don't publicly address reviews, I instead prefer to PM you all, but this review brought up a point that might be of confusion to you all. And that's about how Akakiryu keeps up his Sharingan all the time. The reasons why this isn't a MASSIVE expenditure of chakra is that one, Akakiryu has had his Sharingan since young and therefore has been essentially training with it for his whole life; two, he is an Uchiha, and as the series has pointed out, being an Uchiha drastically cuts down on the chakra drain from the Sharingan; three, he also has Uzumaki blood, which also drastically cuts down the chakra drain of the Sharingan, as it balanced the Uchiha's Yin with the Uzumaki's Yang; four, Akakiryu has been training chakra control and regeneration since birth, making the management of the Sharingan pretty easy for him; five, Kakashi has his Sharingan on 24/7 too, but he just suppresses it, so this isn't exactly a brand new feat. As for the stress on his brain from remembering everything, I don't find it that crazy to achieve, but certainly if he uses a shit ton of shadow clones with the Sharingan, then he would probably have his brain fried. I hope that clears things up for you guys. Don't worry, I don't just hand out such powers casually (regardless of how cool the Sharingan looks).

Btw, I gave up on using Japanese suffixes with the exception of "sensei." They are kind of annoying to maintain, and I don't think I'm that good at them either.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents.

* * *

The next day, at 14:45, Akakiryu appeared outside of Room 301 yet again. There were still some Genin lingering outside of the room, either checking the results list, sulking around, or moving into the room. Akakiryu chose to ignore all of them and just started walking to the room. He was just about to open the door when he heard someone call out to him.

"Hey kid, aren't you even going to check if you passed?"

Akakiryu couldn't help but chuckle to himself quietly, and without looking back, opened the door and walked into the room. "No need."

The one who had called out to him was Mizuki, "What an arrogant little brat. We'll see if that arrogance continues in this next part of the exam." He couldn't help but have his face twisted in an annoyed snarl.

Iruka, who was standing beside him chided him, "Mizuki, there's no need for that. He's probably just really confident, or maybe he already heard he passed from someone. After all, you saw the results, he did in fact pass. Anyways, let's head in too. You ready, Ko?"

The quiet Hyuga boy standing next to them nodded, "Yes, let us go."

* * *

Once Akakiryu had walked in, he had decided to just sit in the same spot as last time and started spinning a kunai around on his palm to pass the time. He didn't have to wait too long this time around, thanks to coming a bit closer to the set time.

With a puff of smoke, a man whom Akakiryu could only assume was the next proctor appeared the moment the clock struck 3.

"I am Aoba Yamashiro and I will be your proctor for the next stage of the exam. I need all of you to follow me to where the next stage will take place. On your way out, please grab a waiver form being handed out by the Chunin proctors." Aoba had his red-framed glasses and slightly tilted headband with sharply raised hair, of course wearing the typical Jonin attire.

Aoba didn't wait for a moment after speaking and immediately moved to the door. Everyone also got up and followed him. Before they passed the doorway, they would be handed a waiver by one of the two Chunin standing by the doors.

Soon the group of Genin had followed Aoba to stand before a fenced-in and menacing forest, a forest that Akakiryu knew all too well.

Aoba stopped and turned to the group as the two Chunin moved to start setting up a wooden shack near the fence of the forest. "Welcome to the second stage of the Chunin exams, training ground number 44, better known as the Forest of Death."

The eerie name got the better of the nerves of many of the Genin gathered and many devolved to chatter amongst themselves.

"Quiet down," Aoba began speaking again, "For this second stage of the exam, each squad will be given either a Heaven or an Earth Scroll and will be expected to reach the Tower in the center of the forest with both Scrolls. This means, you guessed it, that each team will have to take a Scroll from another team in order to pass the exam. Only 18 teams passed the first stage of the exam, so 9 teams will receive an Earth Scroll, whilst the other 9 get a Heaven Scroll." Aoba held up both of the scrolls to show what the looked like; each scroll was marked with their character and was colored distinctly.

"Be warned, you cannot open or read the scrolls. Doing so is a display of a lack of integrity towards your mission as a shinobi and it will mean immediate disqualification. Not to mention the unpleasant fate that awaits you for opening it." Aoba let a slight smirk appear on his face at his own remark.

"Five days will be given to complete the exam." All of this news shook up quite a few of the Genin.

"Now, to receive your scrolls, your team must read over and sign the waivers you were each passed. Once you've signed them, you can turn in your team's waivers to the Chunin located over there for a scroll. The exam will begin at 16:00." Aoba had pointed to the two Chunin that were now standing at the completed shack.

"Uh, Proctor? What are the waivers for?" Akakiryu and everyone looked over to who spoke. It was Tashiro, the guy that Akakiryu had locked in a genjutsu before the first stage of the exam. Miraculously it seemed that he had passed the first stage despite being so shaken up. Akakiryu couldn't help but ponder, 'He seems pretty dumb, but I guess he's got more guts than his lackluster appearance would denote.'

Aoba looked at Tashiro, "The waivers are to show your consent in taking this exam. From here on out, you all will be risking your lives and many of you will most certainly die. The Forest of Death didn't get its name from handing out candy." Tashiro and many others went a little pale at that, but Tashiro seemed to find his bearings pretty quick after glancing at Akakiryu.

'Interesting.' Akakiryu was starting to find this boy amusing.

Everyone broke up into their teams to read over the waivers and talk before the exam started. It only took a moment for Akakiryu to read it over and sign it. He just used his chakra to quickly sign his name, using fire chakra to brand it onto the paper, only possible through his immense control of chakra.

He was the first to walk over and get a scroll from the Chunin. They didn't hassle him over being alone as they seemed to have been informed prior that he was taking the exam alone.

'A heaven scroll, huh? I hope I get lucky with the first scrubs that I chase down.' Akakiryu decided to take a page out of Shikamaru's shinobi handbook and lay around and watch the clouds whilst he waited for everyone to be ready.

Soon each team had received their scrolls and picked their own gate to wait for the start of the exam. There was an assistant proctor at each gate to unlock the gate before the start of the exam and to give the signal for the beginning.

After waiting around for a bit more the Chunin proctor at Akakiryu's gate turned to him, "Alright kid, get ready to go."

"5"

'Alright, I've already locked in on the team nearest to me with my sensing,'

"4"

'As long as they don't run in the opposite direction from me-'

"3"

'- then they'll be my first attempts at finding the earth scroll.'

"2"

'Time to test my luck then.'

"1! The exam has started!"

Akakiryu instantly flooded his body with chakra and burst through the gate, immediately Body Flickering towards the team he locked on. He sped past the world around him, jumping from tree to tree, dodging past fauna and animals, avoiding the occasional giant bug or creeping snake. The world should have become blurred, but it was kept clear under the lens of his Sharingan. And as such, he closed in on his first prey, kept silent by the chakra technique applied to his feet.

* * *

Three Ame Genin, wearing rebreathers and black jacketed wetsuits, quickly moved through the forest. The very beginning of the exam is the only time to rush through the forest, any other time and you risk alerting the other teams.

"You all know the plan; we need to get as close to the tower as possible to lay down some traps. The shinobi from the bigger villages in their arrogance will probably hunt down other shinobi instead of waiting around. It'll be easy to catch a team headed to the tower once they've gotten two scrolls."

"Is that so?"

Immediately the three Ame Genin dodged to the sides, wary of the voice that was so clearly not their own.

"Good instincts." Akakiryu stood still on the branch of a large tree where they had dived away from. Smile on his face and hands in his pockets, looking as if he was relaxing at home.

The three Genin when they had dodged, had also conveniently ended up surrounding Akakiryu, and this point eased them slightly. One of them spoke up, "Kid, why didn't you take the chance to attack? Are you looking to die?" It was a question all three of them wanted to ask.

"Looking to die?" Akakiryu couldn't help but have a weird look on his face, "You seem to misunderstand. How could I die, when you all stand here whilst I've already left with your scroll?"

"What?" His words puzzled them, but soon one realized. "Shit! Kai!" He released himself from the genjutsu and found himself where Akakiryu had been standing, right next to his two teammates who were still stuck in the illusion. He quickly released them, "The scroll is gone. We've been had."

* * *

Akakiryu appeared standing on the top of a tree, dozens of meters away from the Ame Genin. He looked down at the scroll he had nabbed, an Earth Scroll. "Lucky me." His smile grew and he put the scroll away, "Time to break a record." His hands twisted into hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!" And with his words, a black owl appeared that was bigger than a car.

The giant owl gazed upon the small redhead and opened its beak, "How may I serve you, Lord Akakiryu?"

"Take me to that big tower over there and fly as fast as you can."

"As you wish." Akakiryu hopped onto the owl and it flapped its wings with power that bent the trees away from them and sent other birds crying and flying away.

It only took a minute before the giant owl had arrived at the tower and began circling it to slow down its speed. Akakiryu didn't wait any longer and hopped down to find the doors that matched his gate number. Before he left, he gave his thanks to the owl and sent him away.

Walking into the room, he looked at the wall to read the poem written there.

"If qualities of heaven are your desire,

acquire wisdom to take your mind higher.

If earthly qualities you lack,

train your body, prepare to attack.

When Heaven and Earth are open together,

the perilous path will become righteous forever.

This " " is the secret way

that guides us from this place today."

'Same as the original, huh?' Akakiryu took out both scrolls and opened them, throwing them in front of him as he did so.

The scrolls began to smoke, and once enough smoke had gathered up, a person walked out of it.

"What the hell is this?" Aoba muttered between chewing, "I was having my lunch late since I didn't have time earlier and I get summoned?" He looked around him before his eyes rested on the kid before him. "This has to be a joke." He recognized the red head before him as the kid that managed to get special permission to take the exams alone.

He looked around some more and soon, "Oh. Oh, wow." Aoba looked at the Uchiha standing before him. "Do you understand the poem?"

Akakiryu nodded, "Heaven stands for the mind while Earth stands for the body."

Aoba nodded; his calm recovered. "Alright, head inside the tower and pick a room to relax in. You've got 5 days to wait out, so get comfortable." With his piece said, Aoba disappeared and Akakiryu went searching for a room.

* * *

Aoba walked inside the surveillance room of the tower where he found the Chunin stationed in there panicking.

"How did that kid get here so fast? He passed in less than 8 minutes! That's inhuman! No Genin can do that!" The one that saw the camera feed himself felt like his world was crumbling.

"Genin? I'd be surprised if there was even a Chunin that could do that." One of them scoffed.

"One of the camera feeds caught him riding in on a massive owl."

"There's no such owl in the forest. Is he a summoner?"

"Aoba!" With the call of one of them, they all turned to look at the head proctor for this exam.

"Is what we saw real? Did you meet the kid?" They were all eager to know.

Aoba sighed, "Yeah it's real. He looked as if he just walked through the gate, not all the way through the forest and into the tower. I feel pity for whoever has to fight him in the third round. There's no way someone like that is weak."

They all nodded at that.

* * *

Akakiryu didn't bother to leave his room for the five days. He had plenty of ways to train and entertain himself regardless of the room's size and meals were delivered by the assistant proctors. It seems staying-in was encouraged as it meant examinees weren't fighting each other.

Eventually, time was up, and the examinees that made it were gathered into a grand room that was no doubt intended for fighting. It was the same room that Akakiryu remembered from the preliminaries before the final round in the original Naruto world. It was distinct thanks to the massive sculpture of a shinobi's hands formed into the Ram seal.

The Hokage, Ebisu, Aoba, and other Jonin stood before them, including Hayate. Whilst the Genin that managed to pass were lined up in their squads. Akakiryu looked them over, 'Only 3 squads made it besides me. Iruka, Mizuki, and the Hyuga; the Mummy Sand Genin and his almost equally bandaged up teammates; and, with yet another miracle, Tashiro and the other two seemingly average guys.'

Hiruzen stepped forward, "Before we begin, I will tell you the true purpose of these exams." He looked around with his pipe held clenched at the side of his mouth.

'No wonder he looks so damn old. Still smoking at this age.' Akakiryu found himself busy with other thoughts.

"Why do you suppose we hold these exams with our allies? To strengthen the abilities of each of our shinobi and to increase friendship between our allied nations, to be sure, but it's important that you understand its true meaning, that the exams are, so to speak…"

'I can't help but find this speech familiar…' Akakiryu continued with his own thoughts whilst the other Leaf Genin hung on the Hokage's every word. The Sand Genin… were hard to read with bandages covering their faces.

Hiruzen closed his eyes, held his pipe in hand, and puffed out some smoke. "They are a representation of the battle between allied nations."

The Hokage went on about how the Chunin exams came about as a result of a need to prove a village's strength without damaging military strength and the pride of one's nation and other history. He stressed the importance of fighting at full strength and to show the worth of that strength in battle.

Eventually, he came to the important details. "The third exam will be a tournament of duels, held in a grand arena before many spectators, including feudal lords and nobles. Please, draw a piece of paper from the box held by Aoba and you will each be given a number."

One by one they grabbed a number. Akakiryu looked at his.

Number 7. 'Guess I'll be going 4th.'

"Good." Hiruzen nodded. "Genma will now show you the setup for this tournament."

Genma didn't bother saying anything. Instead he just walked up to each squad with the tournament map.

Akakiryu looked at who he'd be facing first, 'Ko Hyuga, huh? So, it was Ko. I guess I'll be getting my wish of fighting the Gentle Fist.'

Genma over to the Hokage and stood beside him, and then Genma spoke up, "As you guys saw, if there are five winners in the first round, then the winners of the fourth and fifth fight will have to battle again to determine who is in the second round."

Hiruzen took over again, "The third stage will be held a month from now in our village's arena. Some of you might have seen the abilities of one another, so this month is meant for each of you to improve your skills or even learn something new."

"Now," the Hokage smiled, "I'd like to say congratulations for moving on to the final stage of the Chunin exams. I am excited to see each of you a month from now."

* * *

 **AN** : The second stage is now complete. I went with the Forest of Death, same as canon, since according to the sacred texts (aka the wiki), the second stage of the chunin exams has been held in the Forest of Death on several occasions. Now, the sad part about using the Forest of Death, or any "hide-and-seek-and-go-kill-each-other" challenge, is that as you saw, Akakiryu is a fast-as-fuck boi. So, instead, I had him set an inhuman record.

I bet you guys didn't expect Tashiro to be relevant, huh?

The third stage of the exams will be more interesting, hopefully.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Yes yes, I'm not dead. I just haven't had any free time to write, since I am the big dumb and have signed up for far too many obligations. Luckily, we have national holidays and Thanksgiving break has blessed me with some time to write again. So here it is, the final stage of the chunin exams.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents.

* * *

The given month flew by in an instant for the exam finalists. Each of them spent it training hard, either refining their sets of skills, or learning new jutsu to get the upper hand for these final rounds. Akakiryu had spent it training like he always had, and Hayate didn't see the need to find a special trainer for him. As such Akakiryu arrived at the fated time and place.

As he stood next to the other genin and Genma Shiranui, he looked over and saw the thousands of people that had arrived today. He could feel their excitement and with each of them talking at once, he felt his body thrum from their voices. The Hokage, lords and nobles from various lands, were all watching over them, eager to witness their abilities.

'Another step on my path.' He smiled.

* * *

In the stands were many of those with some relation to Akakiryu. Kuro and Shisui sat together, eager to watch little Ryu make some progress. Next to them were Sasuke and Itachi, who had been dragged along by Sasuke to watch.

Sasuke tugged on Itachi's sleeve, "Hey, hey Big Brother. How strong are the other guys fighting brother Ryu? They're way older than him, so are they going to be tough to fight for Ryu?"

"Ryu is a… special case. I don't believe there is a single genin alive that could threaten him." Itachi stated plainly.

Shisui piped up, "Of course, the kid learned from me after all. Not to mention him being the son of Aka Uzumaki and Kuro Uchiha!" Kuro grinned a little at that.

"Let's just watch carefully. This is the day my son becomes a chunin, after all." Kuro claimed with confidence. They all straightened up and watched the proceedings closely.

Elsewhere in the stands sat young Ino and her dad, whom she had begged to take her to watch. It wasn't a hard request for him to fulfill, since he too wanted to see what the young Uchiha was capable of.

Nearby sat Hiashi Hyuga and young Hinata with Neji beside her. The Lord Hyuga and company had come to watch Ko's fight, however Hiashi had long been curious of Neji's classmate, and Neji was eager to see the progress of the only boy he considered a friend. Hinata had been dragged along to gain some experience on what she might be expected of as a future Hyuga kunoichi.

* * *

The first fight was set to be between the mummied sand genin and one of Tashiro's teammates, so the rest of the genin, Akakiryu included, were ushered to a spectating area to wait for their own fights.

Genma turned to the two genin once the arena floor was clear. "Are you two ready?" They both nodded. "Then, _begin_!" His words amplified for the crowd to hear and immediately everyone knew the match had begun.

The leaf genin, Tashiro's teammate, didn't hesitate to burst into a run towards his opponent and the sand genin met the charge with equal haste. The leaf genin, kunai in hand, was ready to swing at his opponent, but the sand genin swung first with a strong right streaking towards his face. He ducked his head back, safely away from the blow, and was quick to swing his kunai, but before he could finish his attack, he felt a stinging pain on his neck that made his body lock up.

The leaf genin collapsed to the ground with his neck bleeding black blood, spasming occasionally but otherwise incapacitated.

Genma was quick to call the match. " _The winner, from Sunagakure, is Dokukaze_!" He gestured to Dokukaze who was leisurely standing to the side, rewrapping the bandages on his right arm. Medic nin were already running onto the field to help Tashiro's teammate.

* * *

In the spectating area of the contestants, Mizuki exclaimed, "What the hell did that guy do?" Iruka had no clue and even Ko had his eyebrows knitted with frustration. He hadn't activated his Byakugan and the scenario had played out too fast for him to catch more than a glimpse.

Tashiro and his teammate were left worried over the situation, whilst Dokukaze's teammates had already walked over to the stairs to meet their victorious teammate.

Meanwhile, Akakiryu was leaning casually against the railing, watching Dokukaze heading back to their area. 'Interesting, so it's poisoned hidden blades that he's keeping under those bandages. They would certainly be dangerous to most genin, but he'll need more than that if he wants to be even remotely a challenge to me.'

* * *

The next two fights that played out were more Suna vs Konoha fights, with Mizuki and Iruka fighting against Dokukaze's teammates. The fights were rather plain, with Mizuki and Iruka winning hard-fought battles using mostly basic ninja skills, and Dokukaze's teammates were lackluster in their own abilities.

Finally, the time came for Akakiryu to fight. Ko walked to the stairs to head down to the arena, whilst Akakiryu being a shinobi of efficiency and style, decided to just jump straight to the middle.

The crowd was slowly getting worked back up again, excited to watch a match that should prove to be far more interesting than the previous poor showings.

Genma waited for Ko to arrive, and then asked them both, "Ready?" Akakiryu smiled and nodded, while Ko returned a focused nod. " _Begin_!"

Ko immediately took the defensive stance of the gentle fist and activated his Byakugan, waiting for Akakiryu to make his move. Akakiryu, on the other hand, made no moves at all. Rather, he continued standing hands in pockets with smile on face, waiting a few moments to open his mouth, "You know, Ko. You're one of the few people I have any interest in fighting here." Ko merely raised an eyebrow in response. "You see, we're both from clans that possess powerful doujutsu, and powerful techniques that complement those doujutsu. However," Akakiryu's smile widened and his hands slowly left his pocket as he took on a stance of his own, "It is the user of the technique that makes the difference."

Ko's eyes widened in panic, as Akakiryu appeared almost instantly in front of him, halfway through a strike posed to hit his liver. 'No time,' Ko thought as he was forced to give up his gentle fist stance in favor of making an attempt to protect his side from being hit. His arm blocked the red-haired boy's strike, pain quickly appearing to protest such action, as he was launched well over 10 meters away.

Akakiryu watched as Ko got back up from the ground, cradling his right arm. He looked at his own fist, feeling a tingling pain in it. "Impressive, even as you blocked you managed to get off a palm strike with your left hand." He looked back up, "But can you do better?"

The young Hyuga was in pain. Luckily his arm wasn't broken, and he was feeling enough adrenaline to get him through the pain, but more than anything he was alert. The boy in front of him, the red-haired boy who had never lost his smile, was _dangerous_. He had to end the fight quickly. Sadly, his skill lied in taijutsu, so it meant running back into the fray with that monster, but there was no alternative. Ko had to fight.

Ko charged quickly, palms posed to strike, and Akakiryu waited to meet his offensive. Ko's palms flew out rapidly, aimed at the various chakra points on his enemy's body, but each time he felt his arms brushed away. There wasn't a single strike that escaped the Uchiha's eyes. Ko found his attempts futile, and realized he was only amusing his opponent.

Ko backed away, now several meters away from the boy. He took a deep breath and took a stance that was immediately found familiar to the Lord Hyuga. 'Incredible, so he's already learned it.' Hiashi thought.

" **Eight Trigrams** -"

"Not a chance."

Ko didn't even get a chance to react this time before he found a fist buried in his sternum, the force of the blow twisting into his chest as he was lifted off the ground.

"Puahhh" Ko lost all the air in his lungs and the spit in his mouth, as he felt all the strength leave his body and his eyes slowly black out.

Akakiryu gently let Ko fall to the ground and waited for Genma to make the call.

The senbon had long fallen out of Genma's mouth, as he was left amazed by the kid before him. However, he quickly recovered and announced to the crowd. " _The Winner is Akakiryu Uchiha of Konohagakure!_ "

* * *

Hiashi had already stood up in the stands, his Byakugan flaring, not out of anger, but rather sheer disbelief that his clan's technique was so easily stopped by the boy in the arena before him. Neji was smiling, as the win of his friend made the loss of his clan inconsequential.

Shisui and Sasuke both cheered as Ryu made the final blow, and Kuro and Itachi both smiled happily.

Ino cheered for her beloved brother Ryu, and Inoichi just gaped in shock at the kid's abilities.

* * *

Akakiryu headed back to the spectating area as Ko was carted off by the Medic Nin. Each of the remaining contestants stared at him warily.

Tashiro's teammate turned to Tashiro and whispered, "Good luck fighting that monster." Tashiro turned to him confused.

"What do you m-"

"Hey Proctor, I forfeit!"

Genma stared up to their area, and then nodded to confirm it. He announced to the crowd, " _As his opponent has forfeited, Tashiro of Konohagakure is the Winner of the next match! The next fight will be between Dokukaze of Sunagakure, and Iruka Umino of Konohagakure._ "

Iruka was a bit shocked hearing that he was going to fight so soon again, while Tashiro was busy berating the cowardice of his teammate.

* * *

Soon, both Iruka and Dokukaze had made their way down into the arena and stood opposite each other.

And, for the first time in the exams, Dokukaze spoke up, "You might have defeated my teammate, but you should know that you aren't even close to my level. You should give up so I can quickly have my fight with the Uchiha."

Iruka smiled, despite the bead of sweat forming on his temple, "And you should know that a leaf shinobi doesn't give up so easily."

Dokukaze cocked his head to the side a little, "Didn't that other leaf shinobi just give up?"

Up in the spectating area Tashiro was further pissed off, "I swear to kami if someone doesn't kick this guy's ass… KICK HIS ASS IRUKA!"

Iruka was surprised to hear the shouts of encouragement. He just smiled and threw a thumbs up to the spectator area.

Genma glanced at the two fighters, "If you're both done talking, then let's get this match started, hm?" Both of them nodded. "Alright, _begin_!"

Iruka quickly jumped back and threw some shuriken to probe Dokukaze. Dokukaze in a display of great speed dodged them without difficulty and returned some shuriken of his own which quickly struck Iruka in the chest.

"Poof"

Iruka's body disappearing a cloud of smoke, reappearing to the side finishing up a series of hand-seals.

" **Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu** "

A fireball the size of a cow was released from Iruka's mouth, quickly blasting its way across the short distance between him and his opponent.

Dokukaze was briefly surprised at his opponent's unexpected ability but reacted quickly.

"Nice try. **Wind Style: Wind Gust**!"

The fire quickly consumed the wind but was redirected back to Iruka. "Shit." Iruka quickly substituted with a log to get away, but Dokukaze was quickly upon him. Blades sprung from the bandages on his arms, posed to hit Iruka. 'It's poisoned blades that were under there!'

Iruka could only try throwing shuriken at Dokukaze, desperately trying to gain some distance from the poisoned weapons. The shuriken quickly went right through Dokukaze, who faded away. "A clone!" He didn't notice it because of the trees shading the area they were in, but the Dokukaze attacking him didn't have a shadow.

The real Dokukaze appeared behind him, his blades striking at Iruka's back. Iruka could only try to twist away from the danger, but his left-side was still clipped by the weapons, the stinging pain instantly making him aware of the mistake.

Dokukaze jumped away, satisfied with the results of his attack. Iruka tried to stumble towards him but didn't make it two steps before collapsing to the ground, the blood spilling from his wound turning black.

Genma reached Iruka in an instant and made the call, " _The winner is Dokukaze from Sunagakure_!" Medic Nin quickly took Iruka away, already giving him the antidote.

Up in the spectating area, Mizuki scoffed under his breath. "Useless."

Akakiryu gently shook his head, losing his smile briefly. 'A shame Iruka lost, but I suppose it was to be expected.'

Tashiro was also disappointed but gathered himself quickly. He glanced at his next opponent, the little monster that stopped him with a single glance in their last little exchange. He had been completely helpless, having no clue how he was going to counter that. With little hope, he could only wish for a decent showing; he was desperate to prove his ability to be a chunin.

Genma moved the senbon to the other side of his mouth, glancing at the back of the heavily bandaged sand genin walking to the stairs. He returned his eyes to roam over the crowd, " _The next fight will be between Tashiro of Konohagakure and Akakiryu Uchiha. They will fight to determine who will fight Mizuki of Konohagakure in the semifinals."_

* * *

Tashiro gulped and made his way to the stairs, while Akakiryu just jumped to the center as he had previously.

As he was walking to the center of the arena, Tashiro stared at whom he felt was his fated opponent. He felt a mixture of emotions: fear, determination, and a deep sense of caution. He had no idea how he was going to fight the Uchiha without looking into those demonic red eyes of his.

Tashiro knew what he needed to do. He had to finish this in one shot. Give it his all in one go, there was no other chance.

Akakiryu stood opposite him, hands in pockets and a growing smile of amusement on his face. The boy that stood before him was just so _entertaining_. Akakiryu decided then and there that he would give the boy a chance to show him what he was capable of, if only to satisfy his own curiosity.

Genma felt a little uneasy when he looked at Akakiryu, but from he could tell this was as ready as either of them was going to be. "Ready? _Begin_!"

Tashiro flew through hand seals rapidly, building up as much chakra as he could, mustering his everything for this single jutsu. He felt the power flowing through him, a surge greater than anything he had ever brought forth before.

Akakiryu had just stood there, watching him build up momentum. He couldn't help but twitch his eyebrow at the unexpected amount of chakra he was sensing. The kid was clearly surpassing his limits. 'Alright then, let's match it.' He brought a single hand out of his pockets to start forming some hand seals of his own.

Tashiro felt the chakra in him reach its peak, his body protesting the attempt to contain it, and he reached the last hand seal.

" **Fire Style: Fire Breath Jutsu**!" Flames burst from his mouth, rending the earth as they barreled towards Akakiryu.

Akakiryu met the attack in earnest. " **Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!** " A massive dragon made of water rushed to meet the fire.

The flames turned almost a third of the dragon to steam in an instant, but were extinguished themselves, and the rest of the water dragon barreled towards Tashiro, who had fallen to his knees from the feeling of exhausting all his chakra.

Genma moved quickly, grabbing Tashiro out of the way of the waters. The waters passed their previous position and slammed into the wall of the arena, shaking the stadium and cracking the concrete walls. Genma set down the disappointed Tashiro, and announced to the crowd, " _The Winner is Akakiryu Uchiha of Konohagakure!"_ The crowd promptly went wild, hyped to witness the exciting but quick show of jutsu.

Akakiryu smiled and waved to the crowd before being approached by Genma, "Are you ready for the next match?" He nodded. "Alright. _The next match will again be Akakiryu Uchiha, this time against Mizuki of Konohagakure_!"

Mizuki gritted his teeth and just jumped down from the spectating area, wanting to get this fight over with. He stood opposite Akakiryu, "Don't think that because you could beat Ko and that nobody that you can so easily beat me, brat."

Akakiryu only raised an eyebrow and smiled further, opting not to say anything to the whitehaired teen. Mizuki snarled at the reaction and stared angrily into those demonic eyes.

Off to the side, Genma took this as them both being ready. "As both contestants are ready, you may now _begin_!"

Mizuki got ready to make his move but suddenly stopped. The roaring cheers of the crowd went silent, and the wind he felt against his skin could no longer be heard. He tried looking around, but there was no one to be seen. Akakiryu and Genma seemed to have disappeared, and the stands were bereft of any life.

He kept looking around desperately, trying to catch a glimpse of another human, but soon his thoughts turned to the last thing he saw, those demonic eyes. He reacted quickly, " **Kai**!" Mizuki quickly came to his senses, but when he could again hear the world around him, he also felt a blade pressed to his neck. Akakiryu had taken the chance to draw his tanto and secure his win, something that was clearly recognized by Genma.

" _The winner is Akakiryu Uchiha!"_

* * *

 **AN** : Hot damn that was a lot of fights. I didn't want to go through every single fight in a single chapter, so I will be breaking them up and putting the final fight in the next chapter, which I should be able to get out quickly.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	17. Chapter 17

AN: Hello again, my beautiful followers. I'm on winter break finally and I've got some time so I will try to get out some chapters. Your support has warmed my heart and thus I hope to warm your hearts with my writing.

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents.

* * *

"We will now take fifteen minutes for a short intermission before the final fight." Genma announced to the crowd and then turned to Akakiryu, "Hey kid, I'm sure you probably don't need it, but take this break to rest up a little, okay?" Akakiryu nodded and disappeared in a swirl of black feathers.

He then reappeared back in the spectating area, where it was only Dokukaze waiting. Tashiro's teammate had long left to meet his teammates in the infirmary, and everyone else had ended up in the infirmary as well.

Dokukaze glanced at his future opponent and then walked off to handle some private business. Akakiryu shrugged. He half expected the guy to monologue to him about how he was going to win or maybe share some tragic backstory. Instead the guy probably left to take a piss before the fight.

'Oh well. I suppose the chunin exams go a little easier when a snake doesn't crash the party.' He went to lean on the railing and look over the arena again, pondering over various things. His thoughts drifted to the crowd above. He couldn't quite see them all but could clearly hear them bustling about in the stands.

* * *

Kuro thought back to the performance of his son so far, 'He's gotten so strong. I don't think I even noticed how far he has really come. Maybe, just maybe…' His thoughts drifted away.

Similarly, Itachi and Shisui held Akakiryu in their own thoughts, pondering about the potential he might have. Sasuke, on the other hand, was just ecstatic at his clan member's ability – no. His friend's ability.

Inoichi, Ino, Neji, and even Hinata and Hiashi were each eager to see this final fight. And no one was more eager for this final fight than the Hokage himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi. 'The raw potential of this boy, he could be the next great carrier of the Will of Fire.'

* * *

Soon, the fifteen minutes were up, and the whole arena were focused on the three figures in the arena below. Akakiryu and Dokukaze stood opposite each other, with Genma watching closely off to the side.

Genma asked them both, "Are you ready?" And they each returned a nod. " _As both contestants are ready, I now announce the final fight of the chunin exams to_ _ **begin**_!" His exclamation was especially loud, hyping up the crowd further.

Dokukaze quickly jumped back, going through hand seals, preparing to unleash a special technique. There were a lot of handseals involved, and the prep time took a while, but he assumed that Akakiryu in his arrogance would let him get off the jutsu, as he had spared Tashiro prior.

Sadly, his assumption was wrong.

"Here's a tribute to my sensei! **Dance of the Crescent Moon**!"

In an instant, a shadow clone of Akakiryu appeared, and then in a mirage of after images they charged towards Dokukaze. Dokukaze was baffled by the approaching attack, and quickly stopped his hand seals, having no time to finish the jutsu. He brought up his arms in a crossguard to block, but he had no idea how to block the bizarre attack.

Within a single breath, Dokukaze was struck dozens of times, his bandages reduced to shreds and his body riddled with wounds. The speed and precision of Akakiryu's kenjutsu left him totally defenseless. He had no chance from the very beginning.

Akakiryu's shadow clone dismissed itself, and the red-haired boy himself finally stood a couple meters away. Confident in his attack, he sheathed his tanto.

The crowd was silent, staring down at the now clearly seen Dokukaze, a brown-haired teen, riddled in wounds and free of the bandages that previously covered him. His hidden weapons were scattered on the ground around him, having lost the bandages that held them to his body. He was breathing heavily, collapsed on his knees, unable to move but gladly still alive.

Genma had been surprised to see his friend's technique appear in this arena, but he supposed it made sense that it came from the hands of his student. He glanced at the wounded Dokukaze and made the call, " _Dokukaze has been left unable to fight. The winner of this fight and the finals of the chunin exams, is Akakiryu Uchiha of Konohagakure!"_

The crowd cheered for the smiling crimson-haired, crimson-eyed boy before them. A boy who they still haven't seen the limits of.

* * *

A few days later, after celebrating with Kuro, Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke, and being praised by almost every villager and shinobi that he came across, Akakiryu was summoned to the Hokage's tower.

Arriving inside, he saw Iruka, Ko, and Tashiro standing before the Hokage's desk, where of course sat the Hokage himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi, with his Jonin Commander Shikaku Nara standing beside him. Akakiryu walked up beside Iruka and bowed gently to Hiruzen, "Lord Hokage." Then nodded in acknowledgement to Shikaku.

"Ah yes, Ryu. We've been waiting for you. Now then, while you already likely have a hint of why I might have summoned you all here, I'm sure you want to hear it said directly." Hiruzen smiled. "I would like to congratulate each of you on your promotion to chunin."

Each of them smiled gladly; Tashiro and Iruka even tearing up at the thought of how far they'd come. They all bowed to their Hokage and chorused, "Thank you, Lord Hokage!"

Hiruzen chuckled lightheartedly. He always enjoyed these moments. He then turned to Akakiryu, "As for you specifically, Ryu, I would like to congratulate you further." Every head in the room turned to Hiruzen as he spoke. "It is with the many recommendations of our villages jonin and through my authority as Hokage, that I promote you to the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin for the skill you have shown throughout the chunin exams. Congratulations."

Akakiryu just smiled and bowed again, happy for the promotion. Meanwhile, the new chunin beside him were shocked at the realization that their village now had a 6-year-old jonin. They all had learned Akakiryu's age through the gossip mill before the final exams, so this was all quite the shock to them.

Shikaku spoke up as well, "As a jonin you will report directly to me. I will give you most of your assignments and handle most of your paperwork." He then walked up to each of us and handed us the standard leaf flak jacket. "Take these, as I'm sure you know, these are the standard leaf flak jackets. They're specially made and processed, so be sure to wear them. They're not mandatory but they could just save your life." After he handed Akakiryu his jacket, he spoke up, "Follow me after this and we'll take care of your paperwork for your promotion."

Hiruzen went over the various responsibilities they now had as higher ranked leaf shinobis and then dismissed them all. Akakiryu waited and then left with Shikaku.

* * *

After handling all the necessary paperwork involved in his promotion, Akakiryu received his first assignment as a Jonin. He was to assist and study under the medic-nin of Konoha's hospital. It was a rather cushy assignment. One that no doubt came from a consideration of Akakiryu's young age and immense learning abilities. With Tsunade gone from the village, there has been a gap in Konoha's medical capabilities, one that Hiruzen and Shikaku intend to fill as ably as possible.

Of course, no one expects Akakiryu to fill the gap by himself, but any shinobi that learns medical knowledge is an asset in the field and at home. The assignment is set to be of an unknown duration, likely until Akakiryu reaches a satisfactory level in his skills. Akakiryu had no complaints at all, since gaining medical knowledge has long since been a necessary goal of his.

He has a couple days off before he begins his assignment, and shockingly, his dad asked him to spend that time with him to go on a camping trip.

* * *

Kuro and Akakiryu easily packed for the trip, camping supplies being readily prepared for shinobi who camp on a regular basis, and they were off first thing in the morning. They were walking past the gate when Akakiryu spoke up, "So, dad, where are we going to camp anyways?"

Kuro smiled down at his son, "A place you should have seen a long time ago."

This didn't exactly answer Akakiryu's question, but it didn't bother him. He was just glad to be able to spend time with his father for once. It was a rare opportunity that he intended to take full advantage of.

And so, they went off, spending the day hiking casually through the forest, off the roads and typical paths, in no hurry to reach their destination. They kept silent for most of the time, only occasionally speaking up to make a joke or some small talk on things they saw.

Eventually, they reached their destination. They stepped past the trees and came to a stop before a majestic lake, clear and glistening under the sun. It seemed untouched by man before and pristine thanks to the favor of nature itself.

Akakiryu has seen many things, in both of his lives, but never has anything quite grasped his attention as this lake has. He stood dumbly by the water's edge, looking over the view before him, catching glimpses of the lake's denizens. Fish of many sizes, some that he could see were so big that he almost suspected them to be a shinobi's summons.

Kuro came to stand by his son, "Beautiful isn't it?" Akakiryu nodded and continued to gaze over it all. "Let's go ahead and set up camp before the sun sets." Due to their slow trek over, there was little time left in the day, maybe an hour before sunset.

The two got to work in setting up their tents and a firepit. It didn't take them long, and eventually they found themselves seated on some stones by the lake, watching the sun set over the lake. The sunset didn't necessarily enhance the lake's beauty; it merely gave it a new form, one that both man and boy intended to enjoy.

"You want to know the reason why I wanted to bring you here?" Kuro spoke gently. Akakiryu turned to his father and nodded, something Kuro didn't see due to him staring at the lake. Kuro continued anyways, "This was your mother's favorite place in the world. The place we met."

Kuro smiled fondly, staring at the lake as if he could see Aka in its reflection. "I was on a mission to dismantle a smuggler's ring that was responsible for transporting war supplies from the Land of Fire to the Land of Water. It wasn't a particularly hard mission, but it was important and needed to be done as soon as possible. As such, the Third Hokage requested assistance from Uzushiogakure in the hopes that they, as the neighbors of the Land of Water, would have some information on the smuggling."

He continued, "Uzushiogakure went beyond sending us information, and instead directly sent out a team of shinobi to assist us. Eventually, both our team and theirs tracked the smugglers to a location not far from here. Some of the smugglers managed to escape and your mother and I were sent to chase them down. It was a cinch to capture them and somehow your mother and I ended up spending more time by this lake. Not exactly romantic, I know." Kuro chuckled to himself, "But somehow we became connected in a way, as if this lake granted us some blessing. We started meeting more and more, one thing led to another, and we eloped. Your mother came to Konoha as an official citizen, and we got married."

Kuro smiled down at the lake, "Your mother was perfect in every way. Kind, energetic, and sure as hell knew how to keep me straight. She was the second-best thing to ever happen to me."

"Second-best?" Akakiryu questioned curiously.

"Of course." Kuro turned to Akakiryu with a smile. "You were the best thing to ever happen to me. To both of us."

Akakiryu was stunned. Such a line might come off as cheesy and to be expected to many kids. But to Akakiryu, it was something he never expected. His dad loved him, he knew that, but a part of Akakiryu always doubted that love since his mom died. His dad simply wasn't around as often and didn't seem to care for Akakiryu as much as he had when Aka was alive. Thus, his words meant the world to Akakiryu.

"Thanks, dad."

* * *

AN: I know this was a bit of a short chapter, usually I strive for at least 3000 words, but part of me felt like that's where the chapter needed to end.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


	18. Chapter 18

AN: It's ya boi, the forgotten man. I got another break after J-term (A small term my college has between fall and spring semester) so I'm putting out another chapter since I have time. A lot of new readers and friends have joined us in this story, and many reviews have been made that I haven't managed to reply to, but I hope you all know that I'm glad to have you all.

Onto the chapter!

Note: I don't own Naruto or its respective contents.

* * *

Akakiryu and his father spent a couple more days camping by the lake before they eventually returned back to Konoha. Both Kuro and Akakiryu got some much-needed rest and relaxation, but now they needed to get back to their official duties. Akakiryu especially as a newly promoted Tokubetsu Jonin that needed to prove himself.

The young redheaded ninja thus began his new mission to learn from the medic-nin of Konoha's general hospital. Gaining both skills in medical ninjutsu and standard medical knowledge required. His days began to blur by, training daily in medical ninjutsu and spending his off-hours improving his other skills. He was so busy in fact, that even Shisui and Itachi joked about how he didn't have any time to spend with them. Which was, by all accounts, rather rich coming from the two prodigious Uchiha boys.

Sure enough, several months came and went and soon Akakiryu turned 7, and more importantly, Sasuke had turned 6.

As such, the wake-up call came a couple of days before Sasuke prepared to join the academy.

* * *

Akakiryu was walking back from his day at the hospital. He ended up putting in quite a few hours of overtime due to an influx of patients and he was on-call for the hospital due to his skills having surpassed many doctors at this point.

But when he arrived home, he was met by Kuro leaning against the front of the house, clearly waiting for him.

"Father? What might you need?" Akakiryu asked curiously, as he hadn't seen the man in weeks now. In fact, the last time they truly spoke was on their little vacation, several months ago.

"Come inside, I need to tell you something. Privately." Kuro had a serious look on his face, and the air around him was unnatural.

They went inside the house and sat down.

"So, what did you want to tell me?"

Kuro let out a brief sigh and then looked Akakiryu dead in the eyes. "The clan is having a meeting tonight. You're expected to be there."

"A meeting? What for?" Akakiryu asked calmly, but he felt a dread rise in himself internally.

"That's not important right now. You'll learn everything tonight. Tonight, go to the Naka shrine. In the main hall, beneath the seventh tatami mat from the far right, the meeting will be held." Kuro said nothing more and disappeared in a body flicker.

Thus, Akakiryu knew, the day was close. The beginning of end times. He needed to move forward with his plan.

* * *

Night came, and Akakiryu left for his clan's shrine. He met up with more of his clansmen as he walked, each of them looking solemn. Some acknowledged him whilst most seemed to be in their own world.

There was a gathering of Uchiha outside of the shrine, an orderly line of men and women leading inside. The line proceeded and eventually, Akakiryu found himself in the secret meeting place beneath the temple. He sat on one of the many prepared cushions in the middle of the crowd, nodding in acknowledgment to Fugaku who had opened his eyes to glance at him as he entered.

Shisui, Kuro, and Itachi eventually arrived before the time was due. Kuro, to Akakiryu's worry, moved to sit beside Fugaku. Shisui sat beside Akakiryu whilst Itachi was motioned to sit at the front by Fugaku, which happened to be next to his mother. Kuro didn't even look at his son.

Soon it was time to start.

"Hello, my fellow clansmen. This meeting is one that has been expected, rather, demanded for quite a long time. Today we have gathered to discuss the leaf's treatment of our clan." Fugaku ended with a grimace. Agitated murmurs broke out as he finished. Some in concern, some in anger, others in expectation.

"Since the day that the Kyubi attacked, we have been corralled to this corner of the leaf. Surrounded by the other clans as if we were animals in a show. Our businesses have suffered from this isolation, partly from our poor location, and partly from the citizens distancing themselves from us. Our funding is less than half of what it was years ago, being cut almost every year for various nonsensical reasons. Our concerns brushed off by the other clans, each more concerned with their own interests. We are but a few years away from withering to be a forgotten clan."

The room was practically a wasps' nest, buzzing in anger and zeal. Fugaku's words were met with heartfelt agreement, almost every person in the room having experienced something similar.

"I have endured with endless patience. I have had much loyalty to the leaf, spending my entire life in service to it, but I have met with dead ends and setbacks continuously in my quest for fair treatment for the Uchiha. I refuse to try any longer. So, I propose this. From today on, we plan. We shall plan to remove the sick and corrupt roots of the leaf, cleansing the village in one go, and have the Uchiha become the new foundation that will support this once-great village. We, the Uchiha, will rebel. Do you agree?"

"We agree!" The room agreed in a chorus of voices, very few stayed silent. Except, of course, Shisui, Itachi, and Akakiryu.

"Good." Fugaku nodded grimly. "Stand up Itachi." Itachi stood up as he was told. He stood silently, still in his ANBU gear from his mission earlier in the day.

"My son, Itachi, has joined the ANBU. He is in a great position to gather information on those we will need to deal with, and his prodigious strength will no doubt serve us well." He nodded to Itachi, who expressionlessly sat back down.

"Kuro." Kuro stood up from beside Fugaku. "Kuro has been a Jonin of the leaf for a long time, and his years of experience will be crucial to our success. He will assist me in heading this plan. Now let us discuss."

The various Uchiha men and women gathered began to discuss anything necessary to the plan. What clans needed special care, various leaders and people that needed to be dealt with first, and how to handle the Hokage and the elders. No one really seemed to talk about how they would handle the aftermath. Everyone was too concerned with getting rid of their perceived oppressors.

Shisui had shared a few concerned glances with Akakiryu and they both decided to stay silent, no doubt understanding that the room was too heated to hear any dissenting opinions. Itachi and his mother stayed silent at the front, whilst Fugaku and Kuro headed the discussions.

For the first time, Akakiryu realized the weight that Kuro carried for his clan. A weight that has been crushing him over the years, combined with the weight of his wife's death. Kuro was, and is, undoubtedly a man who has fallen victim to the Uchiha's curse of love and _hate_.

The meeting eventually ended; some progress was made but it was clear that more meetings would need to be held in the future.

* * *

Shisui spoke briefly to Akakiryu after the meeting on their way home. In a hushed voice, he said, "Ryu, don't worry about all of this. The clan is just riled up currently. I'm sure things will end up okay. Itachi and I can handle it."

Akakiryu looked at his cousin, "Shisui, I'm not sure if we were in the same meeting or not, but it's clear that our clan wouldn't shy away from even war if it came down to it. And I fear that war would be the inevitable result of such a revolt. It's either war with our own village or war with other villages after they learn about us successfully throwing a revolt."

Shisui scratched his head, "You know, sometimes I forget that you're not just a kid. But look, Ryu, there's really nothing you can do about it right now. Itachi and I, on the other hand, can. You just need to trust us, alright? We've known about this happening for a while now, and we have some plans. Relax and have faith in us."

The crimson-haired boy gave a small nod, but he knew what would happen.

The death of the Uchiha was near.

* * *

The meeting had ended an hour ago and everyone had long since returned to their homes to either go to sleep or to stew in their riled-up emotions. Akakiryu sat on the edge of their porch to their backyard, pondering about what was to come.

"Son."

Akakiryu turned to meet the approaching image of his father. Kuro sat down next to his son and gazed at the night sky. The stars were especially clear thanks to it being a new moon tonight.

"You were quiet at the meeting and now you sit here. What troubles you?"

The boy turned to his father. "This decision. The idea of revolt. It makes no sense to me."

Kuro sighed, "Ryu, you are still too young to understand it seems. Despite your strength, and regardless of your intellect, you still do not see that we, the Uchiha, are backed in a corner. We have been pushed to our limits for years now, and it would be insulting to endure any longer. This is the only way left for us. The only path for the Uchiha."

Akakiryu turned back to the sky, "So be it. I will play my role for the Uchiha. I serve the clan."

An odd light past Kuro's eyes, and for a moment his Mangekyo Sharingan shone, but soon it was normal. His eyes returned to black and he spoke with a small smile, "Good. I'm proud of you, son. I will expect you at the next meeting."

Akakiryu nodded, his eyes locked on the sky as if trying to find the star that shined that brightest. Kuro got up and left to go to bed.

The boy sat there, stewing in thought for a while before his expression hardened at a decision made.

* * *

It was the middle of the night, but something had kept Hiruzen Sarutobi up. He sat upright on his futon, a bed that he shared by himself since the Kyubi's attack had killed his wife so long ago. It was rare since that night that he might get any restful sleep, but he always tried to at least rest his eyes.

Instead he sat there, troubled by a discomfort unknown.

A tap on the window soon disturbed him, and a glance at the window disturbed him further. A black owl sat on his windowsill; a message container strapped to its leg.

"You are?" Hiruzen looked closer at the owl but soon came to a decision. He opened the window for the owl, and it raised its leg for him, encouraging him to take the message.

He removed a small scroll of paper from the container, and he unfurled the scroll to read it.

" _Tomorrow a common man will come to talk of his woes. I encourage you to clear your schedule to meet him_."

There was no signature or anything to indicate who it came from, but Hiruzen was aware of the one person who could summon black owls in his village. The boy's sensei had informed him of it. Akakiryu Uchiha.

'What could the boy want with me? And why the secrecy?'

Hiruzen shook his head and sighed. He was going to have a lot of paperwork that he was going to need to catch up on after tomorrow.

* * *

Akakiryu went to the hospital the next day just as he usually would. Talking with doctors and nurses, shadowing some Medic-nin in their duties, and treating patients. Well, treating the patients that would accept treatment from a 7-year-old. However, in the middle of the day, after Akakiryu had returned from his lunch break, a man approached the Hokage's tower.

A man with brown hair, brown eyes, average looks with an average stature, approached the Hokage's secretary who sat behind her desk located beside the stairs leading up to the Hokage's office.

"Hello, em, I would like to see the Lord Hokage, please." The man scratched the back of his head and gave a nervous grin.

The secretary gave a smiled and asked, "Okay, what would your visit be about?"

"Well, I have been having trouble with some shinobi at my store. I know I should be bringing this to the Konoha Military Police, but well, I feel uncomfortable in doing so." The man offered another nervous grin.

The secretary nodded in understanding, "Okay, well, Lord Hokage isn't busy right now so you can just go up to see him after you sign in." The man nodded in agreement, wrote down his information on the sign-in sheet, and then went up the stairs. The secretary took a glance at the sign-in sheet but didn't see the man's details written anywhere. 'Odd, I know I saw him write something. I'll have to stop him for his info when he comes back down.'

The common-looking man appeared outside the Hokage's office and saw that the doors were open, so he went inside and bowed before the Hokage's desk. "Lord Hokage."

"Yes, hello. And who might you be?" Hiruzen smiled at the man.

He rose from his bow and returned a nervous grin to the Hokage as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, I'm no one of any importance, just a common man."

Hiruzen's eyes flashed in understanding. He glanced to the side, "Please, leave us for a moment."

The room seemed to get a little brighter as shadows left it, and the doors seemed to close on their own.

"We're alone now."

The man nodded before a buff of smoke surrounded his figure. As the smoke drifted away, it revealed a young crimson-haired boy standing for the Hokage's desk.

"Ryu, what did you want to speak with me about? And in such secrecy?" Hiruzen was immensely curious to know.

Akakiryu dropped to a knee and lowered his head, displaying the seriousness of the situation. "Lord Hokage, allow me to be blunt." Hiruzen leaned forward, adopting a stern expression.

"The Uchiha intend to rebel."

* * *

AN: Ayooo, and that's it. Now, we all know that snitches get stitches, so we'll have to see what happens after Akakiryu has revealed everything to the Hokage. I hoped you all enjoyed the chapter, as we're finally getting into the dreaded moment for every Uchiha, as Akakiryu moves on his plans.

I'll try to get another chapter out before my break ends.

Till next time,

~ Seeker


End file.
